Duterte meets his 'hero' Vladimir Putin, complains about west's 'hypocrisy and bullying'

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, whom he calls his "idol" and "hero", on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in the Peruvian capital, Lima. The Filipino president did not miss the opportunity to complain about the west's "bullying" and "hypocrisy" to the Russian leader once again underscoring Manila's weakening ties with the US.

This is the first time the two leaders are coming face-to-face since the election of the foul-mouthed Duterte in June this year. Since he took over, Duterte has repeatedly spoken about straining relations with the US in favour of leaning towards countries like China and Russia.

"I have been looking for this moment to meet you, Mr President, not only because you represent a great country but [because of your leadership] too," Duterte told Putin, who later extended an invitation to the Filipino leader to visit Russia.

Speaking about his assertions on the western world and particularly about Washington, Duterte said: "Of late, I see a lot of these western nations bullying small nations. And not only that they are into so much hypocrisy.

"They want to seem to start a war but are afraid to go to war. That is what's wrong with America and the others. They are waging war in so many places: in Vietnam, Afghanistan and in Iraq.

"And for one single reason that there was a weapon of mass destruction [in Iraq] and there was none. They insist if you are allied with them that they follow you. They go to the Korean war, nothing happened. They did not defeat them."

Putin said diplomatic relations between Russia and the Philippines should flourish under the current administrations and lauded Duterte for already paving the way for strong bilateral ties. "Well, you have been able to do a lot in a short period of time in terms of developing all round partnership between our countries and with respect to promoting greater trust and confidence between us," said the Russian president.