It seems the much-awaited meeting between the “populist of the East” and the “protectionist of the West” will not take place anymore, as President Duterte recently told foreign media he already turned down the invitation of his United States counterpart Donald J. Trump.
In an interview with state-funded Russia Today, Duterte said: “Yes, I said I’m sorry and I cannot go, because I’m busy.”
He reiterated the statement he made on May 1 before Davao City-based reporters that he might be prevented to meet Trump due to his “very busy schedule”.
In addition, he said he has yet to move on from the “severe criticisms” of the US against his candidacy during the election period.
“They ought not to have said words that would either be in favor or against a candidate, or sway the votes, because it was an election, and you are interfering with the sentiments of the people [on] who to vote for,” Duterte said.
The Chief Executive, however, clarified that he is not against the US and, in fact, he is “friends with Trump”. He said the world just needs to understand the Philippines is veering away from its traditional partners under his administration.
“My foreign policy has shifted away from the pro-Western one. I am now working on an alliance with China, and I hope to start a good working relationship with Russia,” Duterte said.
True enough, Duterte is presently in Russia to discuss matters on defense and trade with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Over a week ago, he attended the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, to enlist the Philippines in President Xi Jinping’s grand plan of reviving the maritime Silk Road.
“The Western world, the European Union and everything, they’re all just double talk,” Duterte said. He rejected future grants from the EU, as it is entailed with conditions that “interfere with the country’s domestic affairs and internal policies”.
Duterte on May 1 said he rejected Trump’s invitation due to a “very busy schedule”. “I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel,” the President added.
Israel’s foreign ministry, for its part, has yet to set a date for Duterte’s trip to the Holy Land.
One week later, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is not totally discounting the possibility of Duterte visiting the White House, as it was still awaiting formal invitation
from Washington.
“We have yet to receive a formal invitation from the White House,” DFA Acting Spokesman Robespierre L. Bolivar said at the sidelines of a Malacañang news briefing. “If a formal invitation comes and if the President accepts it, we will formally convey the acceptance and then we will work out the diplomatic details after that.”
Trump called Duterte on the night of the Asean Summit on April 30, the same day the Philippine leader made the call to halt tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the US somewhat dampened last year, when Duterte verbally lambasted former President Barack Obama for criticizing his war against drugs.
Contrary to Obama, Trump expressed support for Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, in spite of the campaign gathering international condemnation for reportedly claiming thousands of lives.