MANILA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will make a visit to Russia early October to make up for his earlier visit that was aborted within half a day of arriving with domestic affairs, his spokesman said on Thursday.
Salvador Panelo said Duterte has accepted the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Russia again. The trip will take place in the first week of October, he added.
No other details were released regarding Duterte's second visit to Russia. "He will soon announce what will happen during his visit (to Russia)," Panelo told reporters.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin earlier mentioned Duterte's plan to return to Russia.
Duterte visited Moscow in May 2017 but was forced to cut short the visit after terrorists laid siege to southern Philippine Marawi City. Hours after arriving in Moscow, Duterte declared martial law over Mindanao island in the wake of the attack that lasted five months and killed 1,200 people.
The Philippines and Russia have agreed to strengthen their defense and trade relations.
Defense ties between Moscow and Manila developed further after the signing of the Agreement on Defense Cooperation and the Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation in 2017.
Russia posted early this month its first defense attache to the Philippines in over 40 years, signalling "enhanced military cooperation" between the two countries.
