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President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for Moscow's commitment to bolster cooperation in various areas, including in combatting coronavirus pandemic.

Duterte and Putin had a 30-minute telesummit on Tuesday night.

The Office of the President said the two leaders discussed the global and regional vaccine landscapes, noting that vaccines such as Russia's Sputnik V must be mobilized to as many countries as possible.

"The Philippines is ordering 20,000,000 doses of Sputnik V from Russia and both Leaders stressed the importance of ramping up global production and supplies," the Office of the President said.

The two leaders underscored the need for continuing and strengthened collaboration to defeat the pandemic, it said.

Duterte and Putin also vowed to sustain the momentum gained over the past five years over the steady progress in defense and security cooperation between the two countries.

They also agreed on the need for further cooperation in the fields of trade and investents, agriculture and energy development as well as the need to further enhance political-security cooperation.

Duterte reiterated his invitation for Putin to visit the Philippines as soon as circumstances allow, which the Russian leader welcomed, OP said.

Duterte was joined during the telesummit by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Senator Cristopher Lawrence “Bong” Go. Celerina Monte/DMS