PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday expressed willingness to discuss his rancor to the United Nations (UN) with United States President Barack Obama, only if the latter has a deep understanding about how the issue rooted.
At the sideline of his meeting with stranded Filipino migrants in Saudi Arabia, Duterte said he had to first lecture Obama about the problems hounding the Philippines--including the prevalence of drug menace--before they can proceed to talk about his dissenting remarks against the UN.
"They must understand the problem first because we talk about human rights. I would insist, 'Listen to me. This is what the problem is.' Then, we can talk about the UN. No problem," the President said.
This was Duterte's statement when asked if he would bring up with Obama in Laos on September 6 his discord with the UN after it criticized his staunch war against narcotics and said that he had violated the human rights.
Asked then what other issues he would bring up when he meets Obama, Duterte said, "I don't know. He can wish any topic at all. I am ready to talk to him."
On Monday, the White House confirmed that Obama is expected to meet Duterte and talk about human rights.
"We absolutely expect that the President will raise concerns about some of the recent statements from the President of the Philippines," White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes was quoted as saying. (Sunnex)
