Putin invites Duterte to visit Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited President Rodrigo Duterte to visit his country during their meeting at the sidelines of the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Peru early Sunday (PHL time).

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally extended an invitation for President Duterte to go to Russia. This will be preceded by a trip that I would undertake there this December," Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said in an interview in Lima, Peru.

Yasay said that Duterte's trip to Russia would pave the way for the forging of better relations of between the two nations.

"I look forward for an even more optimistic and more closer and more detailed discussions of the President (Duterte) with the head of state of Russia. And that would mark the beginning of our entering into various agreements to achieve our objectives and goals," he added.

Before Putin, Duterte also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In his meeting with Putin, Duterte said the Philippines has been "longing to be part of Europe especially in commerce and trade around the world."

"But there was one thing that really stood before us and that was the result of Cold War. And historically, I have been identified with the Western world," he said.

Duterte then went on complaining to Putin the supposed bullying of Western nations of smaller countries, including the Philippines.

"And of late, I see a lot of these Western nations bullying small nations. And not only that they are into so much hypocrisy," Duterte told Putin during their meeting.

He added: "And they want to... They seem to start a war but are afraid to go to war. That is what's wrong with America and the others. They were waging war in so many places in Vietnam, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And for one single reason that there was a weapon of mass destruction and there was none." —ALG, GMA News