Envoy: Russians not Bond movie villains; they ‘greatly admire’ Duterte

MOSCOW, Russia— Don’t believe the James Bond movies. Russians are not the villains they’ve been made out to be in the flicks based on novels written by Ian Fleming.

And, they look up to President Rodrigo Duterte, according to Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta.

Sorreta said Duterte, who has been the target of criticism from the United States and the European Union over the deaths in his brutal drug war, said Russians “greatly admire” the Philippine President.

“I can’t change the channel on TV without seeing coverage of the Philippines and our President,” Sorreta told reporters. “And it’s not the kind of coverage you would see in New York or in Europe, Western Europe. It’s a coverage that shows great admiration, great desire to develop relations.”

According to Sorreta, the Russians in general admire strong leadership.

“They admire predictability. They admire consistency,” he said. “So they see all these with our President. And one thing they truly admire is his strong and committed desire to build service to the people.”

Russian policy of non-interference

Sorreta added Russia followed a policy of non-interference with allies, and it would hate it if other countries meddled in its issues.

“They don’t want to make enemies for us or tell us who not to be friends with unlike other countries,” he said “So they just want a good relationship, a very respectful one.”

“They think sovereign states are capable of making decisions for themselves and will benefit or suffer by those decisions, but never should an external state interfere in the sovereign affairs of the Philippines or of Russia,” he added.

Duterte had bristled at expressions of concern from the United States and the European Union about the deaths in his drug war, accusing them of hypocrisy and of interfering in the country’s affairs.

Sorreta also noted that Moscow had never summoned him to tell him what it though the Philippines should do.

“They basically respect a country’s decision in what to do,” he said. “For example, on human rights which is a big issue for Western countries, we have had our ambassadors there summoned and given the views of the host country.”

“Let me tell you I’ve never been summoned on that. And somebody was kidding if I’m summoned about it, they might pat me on the back. I’m just kidding,” he added.

Russia has been at the receiving end of calls from international organizations to protect the human rights of its citizens.

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Filipino misconceptions about Russia

He also said Filipinos have their own misconceptions about Russia, stemming mainly from western movies where the bad guys were “either an evil Russian scientist or some beautiful nubile Russian assassin.”

“So you can imagine, this is what’s being watched by our people and then our children, when they play especially the first person shooter games, the villain is either some Russian evil scientists or some terrorists,” Sorreta said.

This also showed that the ties between Manila and Moscow, despite being in place for four decades, had not been running that deeply.

But this would soon change, he said.

Duterte has been cultivating Russia as an ally, a move that has opened a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries.

The two countries are expected to sign agreements on defense cooperation, trade and investment, and mutual legal assistance, among others.

Duterte arrived in Moscow early Tuesday (PH time) for his four-day official visit, and the Russians rolled out the red carpet and gave him military honors.

He was welcomed at the Vnukovo Airport-2 by Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khoavaev and Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Vladimirovich Morgulov.

Duterte had private time on Tuesday.

The first official activity on his visit is a meeting on Wednesday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

This will be followed by a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the conferment of his honorary doctorate at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. /atm

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