Insta
Alienated By Obama, Philippines’ Duterte Gets Trump Invite, Endorsement For His Anti-Drug War
Photo credit: MANMAN DEJETO/AFP/Getty Images
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said President-elect Donald Trump had invited him to the US, and endorsed his brutal anti-drug campaign, telling him that the Philippines was conducting it "the right way".
Duterte, who spoke to Trump over phone on Friday, said the President-elect was "quite sensitive" to "our worry about drugs", The New York Times reported. "He wishes me well, too, in my campaign, and said well, we are doing it as a sovereign nation, the right way," Duterte said.
Duterte has been leading a campaign against drug abuse in which, since he took office in June, more than 2,000 people have been killed in raids. Police said several hundred more have been killed by vigilantes.
Duterte had earlier said he was seeking "a separation" from the US, a longtime ally. The Philippines was seen drifting away from America and towards China since Duterte took office as he didn’t get along with Obama who has publicly criticised Duterte’s anti-drug drive. He had called Obama "son of a whore", and threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Washington.
Duterte said that Trump had invited him to visit New York and Washington, and that he wanted to attend the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year in the Philippines.
"I appreciate the response that I got from Trump, and I would like to wish him success," he said. "He will be a good President for the US."
With inputs from IANS.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
