MANILA, November 14 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Russia and the Philippines are already sharing a good relationship but they also can do more to expand and strengthen it, Philippine Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro told RIA Novosti.

I think Philippine-Russia relations are doing very well, but of course there are so many other things that we can do to expand and strengthen the relations, Lazaro said.

The meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan added momentum to the relations, she said. Lazaro mentioned the return of 24 Philippine citizens to their home country by order of the Russian president among the most important outcomes of the visit.

The minister also noted that no new presidential visits have been scheduled yet, and added that Manila can return to planning bilateral meetings following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

Meetings of ASEAN leaders and the association's partners will be held in Manila from November 15 to 17. The Russian delegation at the East Asia Summit on November 17 will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar