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Philippines’ president to discuss defense cooperation with Putin during visit to Russia

The visit is set to take place on October 1-5

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte

© EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte said he would discuss bilateral cooperation in the defense sphere with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Russia set to take place on October 1-5, the Manila Bulletin daily informed on Tuesday.

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"In Sochi, I will meet President Putin to take stock of the state of our bilateral relations. We will identify ways of further intensifying cooperation areas of security and defense, combatting terrorism and violent extremism, and addressing transnational crimes," the daily quotes Duterte as saying.

The Philippines’ president has stated that his visit to Russia is an important opportunity to broaden bilateral engagement with a country that the Philippines share "key strategic interests with both bilaterally and in the larger Asia-Pacific region."

"Certainly, I will take the opportunity to discuss regional and global developments that impact the Philippines and Russia as key points of convergence of national interests where we can work together," he added. Duterte noted that he would meet with representatives of the Russian business community to attract investment in the economy of the Philippines.

Duterte visited Russia in May 2017 for the first time; however, he was forced to cut his trip short due to the situation in the Mindanao Province in the southern Philippines, where martial law was declared after clashes between the local military and the militants linked to the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia).

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed that on October 3, Duterte, along with Putin and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Jordan would take part in the session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi. According to the spokesman, the Russian president plans to hold bilateral meetings with his foreign colleagues, including the leader of the Philippines.

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