Putin calls Aquino to explain absence from APEC

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called President Benigno Aquino III regarding his absence in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Manila next week.

"President Vladimir Putin called President Aquino the other day to discuss matters related to Philippine-Russia bilateral cooperation and the participation of Russia in the APEC summit in Manila on November 18 and 19," DFA Spokesperson Charles said in a press briefing.

Jose, however, maintained that he has no information on the reason why Putin opted to send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the APEC summit instead.

On the other hand, the Philippines is still awaiting confirmation from the Indonesian government on their representative to the summit.

It has earlier been reported that Indonesia President Joko Widodo is more likely to skip the summit due to domestic issues.

READ: Russian, Indonesian presidents skip APEC

"Although we regret that President Joko Widodo would most likely be unable to attend the summit, the Philippines understands the pressing matters back home require his immediate attention," Jose said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has been the source of haze in recent months due to land-clearing fires which affected much of the region.

Jose assured that the representatives of Putin and Widodo will be able to participate in the summit with full powers.

"We are confident that the participation of the representatives in the (APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting) will strengthen Philippine initiatives as host and also contribute to economic cooperation among member economies," the DFA spokesperson said.

Heads of state of the APEC member economies are expected to attend the summit in the Philippines next week.

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