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Obama throws planned meeting with Philippines leader into doubt

05 September 2016 22:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he was considering whether or not to meet his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, as planned, amid alarm over the latter's campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Earlier in the day, the plain-talking Duterte had told reporters he would swear at Obama if he tried to question him about extrajudicial killings, using a Filipino phrase for "son of a bitch" to describe the U.S. president.

Speaking at a G20 meeting in China, and before traveling to Laos for a summit where he was due to hold talks with Duterte, Obama said he had asked his team to find out if "constructive, productive conversations" were possible.

"Obviously the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours. But I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

"I'm going to make an assessment ... What is certainly true is that the issues of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us, and we've got to do it the right way."

Earlier, Duterte made it clear he would not be lectured on human rights by Obama, adding that "plenty will be killed" before the end of a crackdown that has led to the deaths of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago.

"I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," Duterte told reporters before setting off for Laos, when asked about his planned meeting with Obama.

"Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for," he said. "Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings."

Asked after arriving in the Laos capital of Vientiane whether the meeting would go ahead, Duterte replied: "Maybe, if I feel good. I don't want to quarrel with him. He's the most powerful president ... on the planet."