Russia to PH: Diversify your foreign partners

Russian ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev holds a press conference aboard the Admiral Tributs on Wednesday at South Harbor. The Admiral Tributs is a Russian antisubmaring destroyer visiting the country.

Russia is ready to become a “new reliable partner” and a “close friend” to the Philippines.

“I think it’s time to get rid of outdated clichés. It’s time to get rid of prejudices. For the Philippines, there is an objective need to diversify the range of circle of your foreign partners,” Russia’s ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev told reporters late afternoon Wednesday.

But he made it clear that Russia does not want to interfere its relations with traditional partners. The United States, for instance, is a longtime ally of the Philippines.

“We don’t interfere with your relations with your traditional partners and your traditional partners should respect the interest of the Philippines and Russia,” he said.

Khovaev held a press briefing aboard the Admiral Tributs, an antisubmarine destroyer and one of two Russian naval vessels in Manila for a five-day visit.

“It’s not a choice between these partners and those ones. Diversification means preserving and keeping old traditional partners and getting new ones. So Russia is ready to become a new reliable partner and close friend of the Philippines,” he said.

The ambassador also said that Russia is not seeking a formal military alliance with the Philippines, but they are interested in fostering defense cooperation.

“Russia has no interest to create any alliance in the Asia Pacific region. We are against any close military alliance because security must be equal to all members of the international community not only to a selected few. That’s a fundamental view of our foreign policy,” Khovaev said.

Enhancing the bilateral relations with the Philippines is one of Russia’s “long-term strategic aspirations.”

“We have an objective need to develop very actively our Far Eastern and Siberian regions. It’s not possible to fulfill these tasks without the full-fledged integration of Russia into Pacific multilateral cooperation mechanism,” he said.

Khovaev said the Philippines was a “major player” in the affairs of Asia Pacific region.

“You have more than 100 million population. It’s a big country. You play a significant role in regional affairs … We need new partners including the Philippines,” he said.

“It’s time for the Philippines to discover Russia and it’s time for Russia to discover the Philippines,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly expressed interest of establishing an alliance with Russia, as he threatens to shift from the international ties with the United States, which has criticized his war on drugs.

Last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana visited Russia to meet his counterpart to explore possible enhanced defense engagement between the two countries and to check potential war materiel to be purchased. CBB

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