Philippine President Duterte Vows Not to Buy US Arms, Mulls Turning to Russia

The Philippines will not buy weapons from the United States because of excessive conditions laid down by the American side, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

DAVAO (Sputnik) — The Philippines will not acquire arms from the United States, since Washington makes excessive conditions which complicate the trade, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in the interview with Russian media.

"Russia sells arms, it does not impose any conditions. When Russia sells arms this is the arms. You need it, I will give it to you… Can you do that with America? No. Because the president says he will give and the State Department said No. And the congress says no, he violates human rights, so we keep a distance. If that is the way, so be it… I will not ask for mercy for that alone. I can go to Russia," Duterte said.

On Monday, the Philippine president is expected to arrive in Moscow with an official visit. Until now there have been no agreements on military cooperation between the Philippines and Russia, since Manila has traditionally acquired weapons from the United States.

On May 15, Philippines Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said that the acquisition of US arms had become problematic since Washington was hampering this issue, imposing a number of conditions on Manila.