Right out of the gate, the volatile Mr. Duterte, who had long expressed admiration for Putin’s strongman rule, talked about his distrust toward the United States and other Western countries, oblivious of the fact that Russia technically belonged in the West.
“I have been looking for this moment to meet you, Mr. President, not only because you represent your country but because of your leadership, too,” the Philippine president told Putin, who formally extended an invitation to Mr. Duterte to visit Russia during their exchange.
In his trademark style, President Duterte talked about the “hypocrisy” of the West in intervening in the affairs of other countries while advancing their own interests.
“They want to seem to start a war but are afraid to go to war. That is what’s wrong with America and the others. They are waging war in so many places: in Vietnam, Afghanistan and in Iraq,” he said.
“And for one single reason that there was a weapon of mass destruction [in Iraq] and there was none. They insist, if you are allied with them that they follow you. They go to the Korean War, nothing happened. They did not defeat them,” President Duterte said.
It was the first meeting between the Russian and Filipino leaders, though Mr. Duterte had been making plenty of friendly overtures toward the latter. Last week, the Philippine president spoke about his readiness to join a “new world order” under the leadership of China and Russia.
In their first bilateral meeting, Putin, clad in a dark suit, acted like President Duterte’s host, warmly shaking his hand and offering his to the rest of the Philippine contingent, which included his right-hand man, Christopher “Bong” Go and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who were spotted taking selfies during the meeting.
By contrast, Mr. Duterte did not offer a handshake to Putin’s subordinates and was the first to sit down in his seat.
The Russian was all-smiles at first but his expression turned serious as Mr. Duterte began speaking. An interpreter was at his side to translate the exchange.
The two leaders had barely warmed their seats when the Philippine president began a rambling litany of complaints against the West.
The President said something had stood between the Philippines and Russia, and that was the outcome of the Cold War, which essentially went the way of Western countries.
He said Filipino soldiers had also been dragged into conflicts due to the Philippines’ longstanding close ties with Western allies.
“They also got Filipino soldiers in both Iraq and Vietnam and nothing happened. Then they went to expedition in Iraq and on an excuse of weapons of mass destruction, and there was none. And they [compelled] my country to contribute military forces,” Duterte said.
Putin, for his part, expressed his hope for the diplomatic ties between Russia and the Philippines to flourish.
He congratulated President Duterte on winning the elections on May 9, which he described as an auspicious date, as it fell on “a very pride day, a public holiday that marks the victory in the great patriotic war over the Nazi group.”
The Russian president credited Mr. Duterte for laying the groundwork for stronger ties with Russia.
“Well, you have been able to do a lot in a short period of time in terms of developing all round partnership between our countries and with respect to promoting greater trust and confidence between us,” he said.
“And it is my pleasure to have a chance to speak to you and your colleagues about developing our bilateral relationship,” Putin said.
After the meeting, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said the dialog with Putin was “very encouraging.”