Manila: The Philippine president says he is ready to discuss his bloody anti-drugs campaign, which has sparked U.S. concerns as the body count in the crackdown climbs alarmingly, with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of an Asian summit next week.
Read: Philippine president Duterte says no genocide in his bloody drug war
Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday that he would first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging Obama in a discussion of the widespread deaths. The two will meet for the first time on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Western leaders.
Nearly 1,800 drug suspects have been killed in the crackdown since July 1, and US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Monday that Obama plans to raise U.S. concerns over the killings when he meets Duterte.
