Philippines cancels Russia helicopter deal over US sanctions

• Philippines cancels a $228 million contract for Russian military helicopters due to US sanctions.
• The Philippines’ envoy to Washington told reporters “the Ukrainian war” triggered the decision, according to local media.

MANILA: An official confirmed on Wednesday that the Philippines has cancelled an order for 16 Russian military helicopters, following rumours that former president Rodrigo Duterte cancelled it due to US sanctions against Moscow.

Manila has been a US ally for a long time, so in November it agreed to pay $228 million (12.7 billion pesos) for Mi-17 helicopters to update its military.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the United States and its allies placed severe sanctions on Moscow.

They want to cut Russia off from the rest of the world’s financial system so that Moscow can’t pay for the war.

On Wednesday, spokesman Arsenio Andolong stated that the contract was being “formalised” by the Philippine Department of Defense.

Without referencing US sanctions against Moscow, Andolong stated “changes in priorities necessitated by global political developments resulted in the cancellation of the project by the previous administration.”

In March, Duterte’s defence minister, Delfin Lorenzana, said that the Philippines had put down a deposit on the transport helicopters before fighting broke out in Ukraine and that the deal was “on track.”

Last Monday, Lorenzana, who now heads a separate government agency, told local media that Duterte himself cancelled the contract because of penalties.

Lorenzana told reporters, “I don’t know if we can still get back the money since we were the ones who terminated the contract,“

On Wednesday, the Russian embassy in Manila could not be reached for comment.

The Philippines’ ambassador to Washington, reportedly told AFP that the decision to cancel was prompted by “the Ukrainian war.”

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