(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has extended his “warmest congratulations” to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his re-election.
“As he resumes performance of his duties, President Duterte wishes President Putin more success in leading Russia to greater progress and in advancing the cause of peace and security in our region and in the larger international community,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement issued shortly after he arrived from Sydney where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia Special Summit.
Cayetano said the country was looking forward to “working more closely together to strengthen ASEAN-Russia dialogue relations and to advance our common interests in multilateral fora including the United Nations.”
Putin won a fresh mandate by a landslide in the March 18 elections, which Cayetano said were also observed by two senior officials from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
The two, Cayetano said, were among several foreign delegations invited to observe the poll.
Relations between the Philippines and Russia have warmed since Duterte assumed the presidency.
