Rodrigo Duterte Says He May Be Too Busy for White House Visit
that I cannot make any definite promise,
By FELIPE VILLAMORMAY 1, 2017
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines said on Monday
that he might not accept President Trump’s invitation to visit the White House, because he was "tied up" with a busy schedule.
On Monday, Mr. Trump told Bloomberg News that he was open to meeting Mr. Kim "under the right circumstances." Mr. Duterte, who once referred to President Barack Obama as a "son of a whore," suggested on Monday
that his differences with the United States had had much to do with Mr. Obama.
White House officials said Mr. Trump had called Mr. Duterte in an effort to mend their countries’
recently strained relationship, as a bulwark against China’s expansionism in the South China Sea.
Phelim Kine said that Countries with close bilateral ties to the Philippines, particularly the United States, have an obligation to urge accountability
for the victims of Duterte’s abusive drug war, rather than offer to roll out the red carpet for official state visits with its mastermind,
Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said Mr. Trump also wanted to build a united
front in Asia in opposition to North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear and missile technology.
Duterte said that It was not a distancing, but it was rather a rift between me, maybe,
and the State Department and Mr. Obama, who spoke openly against me,