The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret after his obscenity against President Barack Obama prompted the White house to cancel the planned bilateral talks between the two leaders.

Duterte, who called Obama "son of a bitch" on Monday, now regrets his attack "as a personal attack on the President of the United States," said in a statement through his press Secretary. "We look forward to smoothing the differences arising from national priorities and views," the statement said.

White house officials said earlier that Obama opposes Duterte about the circulation in his country with drug traffickers, including extrajudicial executions, which are civil without resorting to judicial proceedings.

"Who he thinks he is? I'm not an American puppet. I am the President of a sovereign country and I do not obey anyone except the Filipino people," Duterte spoke on Monday. "Son of a bitch, I'd yell at you."

Obama has worked hard to develop the cooperation of the Philippines with the United States as a regional counterweight to China. He visited the country twice in his second term, and announced in November the return of the US military presence at the naval base in the South China sea.

Obama and Duterte agreed to meet in Laos this week, where Obama attends meeting of leaders of South-East Asia. In the statement a press-the Secretary of Duterte said "the meeting was postponed to a later date."

In his speech on Monday Duterte also accused the United States in unrest in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. "In fact, we inherited this problem from the United States," he said. "Why? Because they invaded the country and conquered people. Everyone has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings. Why raise the issue of the fight against crime?"

Obama indicated Monday that he feared a meeting with Duterte, believing that pomposity may prevent significant progress between the two countries. Later on Monday afternoon, the White house announced that the meeting was cancelled.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents