LIMA, Peru – President Duterte arrived here Thursday night (Friday morning in Manila) for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Duterte was welcomed by Peruvian Minister of Culture Jorge Nieto and Peruvian Ambassador to Manila Julio Cardenas Velarde.
Duterte will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of the summit today.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. confirmed the meeting. “Yes with Russia it will take place. I have no reason to believe why it would not take place but there is nothing definite we can say at this point in time,” said Yasay.
Duterte will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the sidelines of the summit today. The Chief Executive also met Xi during a state visit to China a few weeks ago.
He will also hold a bilateral meeting with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of APEC host Peru today but none with US President Barack Obama as of presstime.
Duterte had no scheduled public appearance yesterday. The APEC summit starts today and ends tomorrow.
(Bernie Cahiles Magkilat)