According to the Russian satellite news agency on October 1, the Philippine ambassador to Russia Igor Byron told the media that the Philippines will invite Russian President Putin to attend the 2026 ASEAN Dialogue Partner Meeting and expressed expectation for Putin's visit to the Philippines.
Igor Byron said, "The Philippines will assume the rotating presidency of ASEAN next year. As usual, of course, we will once again invite the Russian President to attend the meeting between ASEAN and dialogue partners."
Byron added that "four Philippine presidents have visited Russia, and Russia has not yet made a return visit." He also conveyed a request for Russia to understand the Philippines' expectations for this historic visit "if possible".
Public reports show that former Philippine President Duterte has visited Russia many times, but current Philippine President Marcos has not yet visited Russia.
In 2026, Russia and the Philippines will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Philippine Ambassador to Russia Igor Byron Vision of China
ASEAN currently has 10 member states, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. East Timor is expected to become the 11th member of ASEAN in October this year.
ASEAN actively carries out multilateral diplomacy, with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Russia, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom having 11 dialogue partners.
This year’s rotating presidency of ASEAN will be held by Malaysia. On Sunday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October, while Putin is also “seriously considering” the possibility of attendance.
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