Putin visit to PH to further strengthen ties of 2 countries, says Palace

October 27, 2019

The possible visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Philippines is expected to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

“You know, when head of states visit the country it means it will bring something new on the relationship between the two countries,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a radio interview.

“If (the relation) is weak, it will be strengthened. If it is already strong, (the visit) will further strengthen it,” he added.

Panelo said the purpose of every visit of a head of state or government to another country is to improve the bilateral relations.

While the Palace official could not confirm yet when Putin would visit the country, he said President Rodrigo Duterte and the Russian leader could talk about many things.

“There are a lot of things to discuss, (like) security, trade, sharing of intelligence information, tourism, (and) exchange of scholars. The agenda is usually like that,” he added.

Russian Ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev earlier said that Putin might visit Manila soon.

“So the invitation of President Duterte was accepted by President Putin with gratitude,” Khovaev said in a forum.

Duterte already had two working visits in Russia - the first was in May 2017 when he cut it short because of the Marawi siege and the latest was early this month. Ella Dionisio/DMS