The White House does not rule out the possibility of President Rodrigo Duterte and U.S. President Barack Obama finally meeting one-on-one during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Peru in November.
In a press briefing Thursday (October 27) Manila time, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest pointed out they have yet to know if President Obama’s schedule will allow for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, as well as whether President Duterte will attend the APEC summit.
But, according to Earnest, “it’s not one I’m prepared to rule out at this point.”
Obama and Duterte’s scheduled bilateral meeting during the 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits last September in Laos was cancelled at the last minute after Duterte called his American counterpart a “son of a whore” and threatened to repeat it in person if he raised the issue of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
Earnest confirmed having ruled out previous meetings with Duterte “on short notice.”
Duterte later expressed regret with the comments, which he described as an overreaction to news media reports he had read about Obama’s plans to press him on his tactics for combating drug trafficking.
Two days after Duterte’s profane outburst, the two leaders spoke, albeit reportedly just exchanging pleasantries, while waiting with other world leaders to enter a gala dinner at the ASEAN summit.
The post Duterte–Obama Meeting ‘Still Possible’ appeared first on Manila Bulletin
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