Palace welcomes Putin’s acceptance of PH invite

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Sunday welcomed Moscow’s announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s invitation for him to visit the Philippines.

No date has been set for Putin’s visit but presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo was optimistic that it would boost cooperation in security, trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Earlier this month, President Duterte secured more than P620 million in business deals during his second trip to Russia earlier this month.

To support warming ties between the two countries, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev on Saturday invited Philippine firms to explore investments and joint ventures in oil and liquefied natural gas in Russia. —Julie M. Aurelio