Obama, Philippine President Duterte exchange pleasantries after slur

VIENTIANE, Laos, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met in a brief exchange of pleasantries Wednesday, two days after Duterte had a profanity-laced outburst against the U.S. president.

The two men met and shook hands before a dinner for world leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The meeting was brief and not substantive, White House officials said.

"They were the last people to leave the holding room. I can't say how long they met," Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, travelling with Duterte, told reporters. "I'm very happy that it happened."

Monday, Duterte called Obama a "son of a bitch" in a public comment and threatened to repeat it in person if Obama raised the issue of the Philippines' war on drugs that has left some 1,900 dead since June. After the United States canceled a planned formal meeting between the two leaders, Duterte said he regretted the comment.