Medvedev welcomes Duterte to ‘bigger, better’ white house

MOSCOW — President Duterte met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in this city last night.

Reuters news agency translated Medvedev’s greeting to Duterte, spoken in Russian: “I am very glad to welcome you to Moscow, in the house of the Russian government. It is sometimes called the white house, but it is not the white house which is in another country. It is the house of the Russian government, although it is sometimes called the white house, but it is bigger and better (laughs).”

Duterte, in his opening statement, told Medvedev he was pleased to see the prime minister again.

“Thank you for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to me and my delegation,” Duterte said.

The two leaders first met in 2017, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.

“In 2017, during my first visit to Russia, we successfully set the foundation for the bilateral coopeartion. Since then, we have seen the mark of our progress in our engagement including such strategic areas as defense and security,” Duterte said.

He talked about the port call of BRP Tarlac in Vladivostok in 2018, the first ever by a Philippine Navy ship, which he described as “a historic milestone in our relations.”

“This was unthinkable a few years back, yet we did it and more firsts are to follow,” he said.

“We now have consultative mechanisms, where we explore ways to expound our cooperations in various areas, including trade and investment, defense and security, energy, science and technology and more,” Duterte said.

He expressed confidence that relations between the two countries would grow stronger.

“We are intent in sustaining this momentum. I am confident we’ll succeed as a strong commitment from both sides (will) bring our relations to an even greater (level)...,” Duterte said, before journalists were asked to leave as he started a closed-door conference with Medvedev at the prime minister’s office.

Welcoming Duterte, Medvedev said, “Tomorrow we will have a Russian program in Sochi. It is not so cold in Moscow but it is warmer in Sochi.”

Duterte has said he is not fond of traveling in cold weather.

Medvedev said he expected to see Duterte again at the East Asia Summit in Thailand later this year.

Warmer ties seen

Despite forecasts of cold weather, Duterte has vowed to warm the country’s relations with Russia and make up for decades of missed opportunities.

Business and defense deals may be sealed during his five-day state visit.

Duterte, clad in a dark green overcoat and black pants, was greeted by temperatures of two to four degrees Celsius when he arrived with members of his official delegation at 3:25 a.m. (local time) yesterday at the Vnukovo military base here. 

He was welcomed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta.  

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev was among the officials present on the Russian side.

Upon arrival, presidential spokesman and chief legal adviser Salvador Panelo said the leaders of the two countries are eager to reinvigorate bilateral ties.

“We have to underscore that it is under the Duterte administration that both countries witnessed a dramatic reinvigoration of formal diplomatic relations since its establishment in June 1976,” he said.

“The President hopes to have a robust, comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership with Russia under President Putin, whom our Chief Executive fondly calls his favorite hero,” said Panelo, taking a cue from Duterte’s departure speech on Tuesday.

In his speech, Duterte expressed optimism that key agreements involving political cooperation, health, science and technology, and culture will be signed during his trip.

Russia is currently the Philippines’ 21st largest trading partner out of 221, 34th biggest export market and 19th (out of 198) import supplier, Malacañang said.

Duterte went to Russia upon the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.

In May 2017 during Duterte’s first visit here, he had to skip his scheduled meeting with Putin and cut short his trip to rush back to Manila together with his top security officials after Maute terrorists attacked Marawi, starting a five-month seige. Duterte placed Marawi under martial law.