PH-Russia deal vs terror eyed

DAVAO CITY—“Presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to  explore the idea of a military cooperation with Russia with the growing  threat of terrorism,” Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor  Anatolyevich Khovaev said.

Khovaev met Duterte here on Wednesday evening.

The Russian ambassador said that he and Duterte also agreed that there has  to be combined efforts against terrorism. He added that the Abu Sayyaf was  one terror group mentioned during the meeting.

“The struggle against terror and threats continues,” he told reporters  after emerging from the meeting with Duterte.

“All of us should combine all our efforts,” he added.

Khovaev said aside from “possible sharing of experiences as well as  information,” he and Duterte also talked about the possible purchase by the  Philippines of Russian military hardware.

But he admitted it was not discussed in details.

Last year, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Prime Minister  Dmitry Medvedev had been wanting to work closely with the Philippine  government for military and defense cooperation similar to their existing  agreements with adjacent states.

The Philippines also has an existing agreement with Russia on the war  against illegal drugs.

Coloma said Russia also wants to intensify bilateral ties at diplomatic,  business and entrepreneurial fronts. Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao