President Obama and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met informally on Wednesday in a holding room before attending a gala dinner at a regional summit, Philippine officials say. The brief meeting took a little sting out of the soured relations caused by Duterte's intemperate language in referring to Obama earlier this week, which caused Obama to cancel a formal meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the AP reports.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay says he is "very happy the leaders met, and it "all springs from the fact the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is firm, very strong." A White House official says the two leaders exchanged "pleasantries" in a brief discussion in the holding room before the dinner, the BBC reports. The Wall Street Journal reports that Duterte was absent from Thursday morning meetings at the Vientiane summit. A spokesman told reporters that the leader had a migraine. (More Rodrigo Duterte stories.)
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