Duterte “happy” to talk with Putin despite cutting short trip to Russia

May 24, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he was "happy" that he was able to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite cutting short his official visit to Moscow due to the conflict going on in Mindanao. Duterte had a bilateral meeting with Putin in Kremlin for almost one hour before he boarded his flight back to Manila. "I’m sad but it makes me happy that we are able to have a last-minute - not last minute but almost an hour - last minute meeting with President Putin," he said in an interview by Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary for Social Media Margaux Uson. "I was able to communicate all the things that I wanted to tell him. The result was positive," he added. Duterte did not elaborate what he discussed with Putin. But before he went to Russia, he said he would ask Moscow to provide the Philippines with precision-guided weapons, which he could use against the terrorists and other enemies of the state. During his meeting with Putin, Duterte was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go. Duterte cut short his official trip to Russia due to the ongoing atrocities in Mindanao where he declared martial law. The terrorist Maute Group has occupied Marawi City, causing panic among the residents in the area on Tuesday. If he did not cut short his trip, Duterte and Putin were supposed to hold the bilateral meeting and to witness the signing of several agreements between the two countries on May 25. (Celerina Monte/DMS)