Russia is ready to step up military-technical cooperation with the Philippines, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Rodrigo Duterte on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Vietnam.

Axar.az reports citing TASS that, according to Putin, tackling terrorism is the main challenge both countries are facing.

"In this respect, as has been agreed, [we plan - TASS] to step up cooperation, particularly in the military area, military technical field, and of course we should put more focus on economic ties," he said.