Philippine leader lashes out at U.S. at APEC meeting with Putin

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte criticised the U.S. and other Western nations on Saturday, during his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, leader’s summit in Lima, Peru.

Mr. Duterte told Mr. Putin, who he had previously described as his idol, that he had been looking forward to meeting him because of his leadership and for representing “a great country.”

But Mr. Duterte’s attention in the meeting also turned to the West.

“I see a lot of these Western nations bullying small nations. And not only that, they are into so much hypocrisy,” Mr. Duterte said.

The Philippine president also criticised the U.S. for its involvement in overseas conflicts, saying,

“They seem to start a war but are afraid to go to war. That is what’s wrong with America and the other (Western nations).”

President Putin congratulated Mr. Duterte for his “personal victory” in winning the presidential elections in May, and expressed hopes that diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Russia strengthen further.

“You have been able to do a lot in a short period of time in terms of developing the all-round partnership between our countries and with respect to promoting greater trust and confidence between us,” Putin said.

Mr. Duterte also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, and invited Mr. Xi to pay a visit to the Philippines after Mr. Duterte’s own state visit to Beijing in October.