President Rodrigo Duterte expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin will “do the right thing” in dealing with the United States and its allies over the airstrikes in Syria, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
In a press conference, Roque said that President Duterte expressed his concern to Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev who paid a courtesy call to Malacañang Monday.
Roque said the Russian envoy gave the President a personal letter from Putin.
“President Duterte articulated that he is confident that President Putin will do the right thing in the present situation in Syria,” Roque said.
“The President likewise expressed hope that the situation in Syria will not escalate any further and there will be return to peace as there are around 1,000 Filipinos in Syria,” he added.
The Palace spokesperson said both the Philippines and Russia reaffirmed their “mutual support” for each other.
In the same meeting, Duterte and the Russian envoy also discussed the drug war in the Philippines and the country’s decision to pull out from the International Criminal Court, Roque said.
Russia, the Syrian regime’s top ally, reacted strongly to the airstrikes launched by the United States and its allies on Damascus and Homs last Saturday, warning of “consequences.”
The US, UK and France launched a series of strikes on three locations identified as critical to Syria’s production of chemical weapons, including a scientific research center in Damascus, and a production facility and storage facility in Homs.