After canceling the meeting, US says words matter

Washington - The planned meeting between the US President, Barack Obama, and the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, was canceled because of the rhetorical tone of the Filipino leader who raised questions about the chances of productive talks, reported the Department of US state on Tuesday.

"Words matter, and we want to see an atmosphere that is friendly and open to strong cooperation," said the spokesman of the State Department Mark Toner after Duterte calling Obama "motherfucker" and say it would not receive lessons on extrajudicial killings in the drug war in the Philippines.

Duterte later expressed regret for the language used. The two would meet on the margins of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.