President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is back in Manila following what he described as a “very productive” two-day working visit to Kazan, Russia. He and his delegation arrived at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 4:02 p.m. on June 19, 2026. Courtesy of Presidential Communications Office
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is back in Manila on Friday following what he described as a “very productive” two-day working visit to Kazan, Russia.
He and the Philippine delegation landed at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 4:02 p.m.
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During the visit, Marcos co-chaired the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Russia Commemorative Summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where leaders exchanged views on regional and international developments, including the South China Sea and the situation in the Middle East.
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“We also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in areas that bear directly on the stability, resilience, and prosperity of our peoples,” the President said in his arrival statement.
“Our discussions reaffirmed the importance of deepening practical cooperation on shared security challenges such as terrorism, transnational crime, cybercrime, and other non-traditional threats, as well as sustaining Asean–Russia engagement across all community pillars through our existing mechanisms,” he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is back in Manila following what he described as a “very productive” two-day working visit to Kazan, Russia. He and his delegation arrived at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 4:02 p.m. on June 19, 2026. Courtesy of Presidential Communications Office
Putin and Southeast Asian leaders adopted several key documents:
The Kazan Declaration 2026: “Asean-Russia: Unity in Diversity – 35 Years Together,” which articulates their shared vision for the future.
The Asean–Russia Joint Statements on Cultural Cooperation and on Energy Cooperation;
The Asean-Russia Comprehensive Plan of Action 2026-2030, which serves as the principal roadmap for cooperation across the political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars over the coming years
Marcos also held “constructive engagements” with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union, including the Eurasian Economic Commission.
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Their discussion covered inter-regional dialogue and practical cooperation in trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, agriculture, tourism, and addressing transnational challenges.
On the first day of his visit, Marcos held his first bilateral meeting with Putin.
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo by Marianne Bermudez.
“On the margins of the summit, I held a very productive bilateral meeting with President Putin where we reaffirmed the friendship and cooperation between Russia and the Philippines as we look forward to the next 50 years in our relations,” said Marcos.
“We discussed ways to further advance our bilateral partnership across trade and investment, energy security, agriculture, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges,” he added.
While the Philippines has yet to secure an energy cooperation deal, Marcos said the Russian government is “very open” to proposals aimed at expanding engagement in petroleum products.
“In terms of energy there have been no firm agreements but merely an understanding that we will continue to develop what we have already started in crisis, which we are hoping to come to an end soon,” he said.
“I can say that President Putin, the Russian Federation government, was very open to any kind of suggestion that we do increase that engagement and we look further into getting our supplies of petroleum products from Russia,” he also said.
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Marcos also supported ongoing efforts to boost the number of direct flights from Russia to top Philippine tourist destinations. /mr
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