Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte sought to mend fences after his expletive-laden
tirade against Barack Obama prompted the U.S. president to cancel a one-on-one
meeting in Laos.
The
president added that he had asked his staffers to speak with their Philippine
counterparts to "make sure if I'm having a meeting, it's productive and
we're getting something done."
White
House officials previously said Obama would confront Duterte about his country's
handling of drug dealers. Earlier in the day, during a news conference before
leaving the Philippines for Laos, where both men are to attend a summit of
Southeast Asian leaders, Duterte had said that if Obama were to raise the issue
during their scheduled meeting, "son of a bitch, I will swear at you.
Obama
called the Philippines a close "friend and ally" of the United
States. including extrajudicial killings, which are government executions
without the benefit of judicial proceedings. Clearly, he's a colorful
guy," Obama said during a news conference after the Group of 20 summit in
China.
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