After the president of the Philippines announced a separation from the US on Thursday, Igor Khovaev, Russian Ambassador to Philippines, affirmed that Moscow is ready to provide assistance to and fully cooperate with Manila. The ambassador assured the news outlet that Moscow would not interfere with the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.
He also said that Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte impressed Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting in Laos last month, and that Moscow supports the leader’s fight against illegal drugs and criminality. Despite 65 years of close partnership, relations between the US and the Philippines have soured in recent months over Duterte’s controversial “war on drugs” which has led to the death of at least 3600 people since May.
Duterte criticized US President Barack Obama’s “arrogance” earlier this month, as he announced a trip to China to discuss partnership projects. It was from China that he would later announce the separation from the US.
