- Russian envoy said country ready to help, cooperate with PH
- He said Russian Prime Minister Medvedev impressed with Duterte during their encounter
- He also said it’s time for Russia and PH to get to know each other better
“Please formulate your wish list. What kind of assistance do you expect from Russia and we will be ready to sit down with you and discuss what can and should be done,” he told GMA News. “It includes any area, any field of possible cooperation.”
According to Khovaev, Duterte left quite an impression on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when the two met in Laos during the ASEAN summit last month.
“He was deeply impressed by the personality of his Excellency President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.
Khovaev added it was time for the Philippines to get to know the real Russia which he said has been unfairly portrayed in Hollywood movies.
“A true Russia is much, much different from what is being portrayed by Hollywood movies. The Philippines and Russia deserve to know each other much, much better. It’s time to discover,” he said, while taking a dig at Western countries whom he said do not respect the international principle of non-interference in another nation’s domestic affairs unlike Russia.
“We don’t interfere with the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. It is a fundamental principle of our foreign policy,” he said.
In his speech before a group of businessmen in China, Duterte indicated his intent to go to Russia and talk to President Vladimir Putin on the possible strengthening of ties between Russia and the Philippines.
“I realign myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin. There are three of us against the world. China, Philippines, Russia,” he said.
