Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW — President Rodrigo Duterte met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin shortly before his scheduled departure for the Philippines.
The two leaders smiled and shook hands with each other upon meeting.
Putin returned to Moscow Tuesday evening to meet the Philippine President, who cut short his visit because of a terror attack in Marawi.
Duterte explained the reason for his abrupt departure, saying he had a problem with the ISIS and had to head home to attend to the urgent matter.
He offered friendship to Putin and assured the Russian President that the Philippines has gone beyond the ambit of western influence.
He asked for a soft loan as well, saying the United States had cancelled the Philippines’ arms purchase from it.
Putin, in turn, condoled with Duterte for the Marawi attack and hoped that it would be resolved with minimum losses.
He also vowed improved relations with the Philippines.
They could cooperate in the military sphere, he said.
Other promising areas of cooperation were energy, machine building, and infrastructure, he said.
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