President Rodrigo Duterte says he wants 'no quarrel' with US President Barack Obama, saying “I do not want to quarrel with him. He’s the most powerful president of any country on the planet." He has expressed regret for calling the US President "a son of a whore" -- a remark that led Barack Obama to cancel their meeting during a regional summit in Laos.
During a press conference before President Duterte left for a regional conference in Laos -- which Obama is also attending, President Duterte warned Barack Obama not to bring up the matter of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines that have been carried out as part of Duterte's war on drugs.
US President Barack Obama learnt of President Duterte's comments as he came out from a meeting at the G-20 summit in China, responded in a measured way that signaled the meeting would be called off: “I always want to make sure that if I’m having a meeting, that it’s actually productive and we’re getting something done.”
In a statement read by his spokesman, President Duterte said the remark was not intended as a personal insult. “While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress, we also regret that it came across as a personal attack on the US president,” Ernesto Abella quoted Duterte as saying.
He added that a meeting with the US had been "mutually agreed upon to be moved to a later date."
Source: Ibtimes
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