Russia President Vladimir Putin lauded President Rodrigo Duterte – on November 10, during a bilateral meeting held at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in Vietnam – for quelling the terrorists who attacked Marawi.
“I remember that you had to cut short your trip to Russia due to a terrorists’ attack on your country. I remember that you told me before the departure that you had to restore order and fight back the terrorists,” Putin said during the meeting.
“I want to congratulate you on having achieved that,” he said.
President Duterte, for his part, thanked the Russian leader for military aid which included trucks and rifles.
“Your timely assistance to my country helped us to replenish the old arms. And we have the new stock, so the new arms that we got from you, sir, were given to the special units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In a way, you had us turn the tide and to shorten the war there because all of your assistance,” President Duterte said.
Putin answered and said “weapons are very important, but what is most important is your resolve and the readiness of the Armed Forces, security agencies and the police to counteract the terrorist threat. So I congratulate you.”