Trump says he has 'great relationship' with Philippines' Duterte

Thomson Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during the gala dinner marking ASEAN's 50th anniversary in Manila

• US President Donald Trump said he has a "great relationship" with the Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte.
• Duterte is a controversial for his country's war on drugs that has killed thousands of people.
• The two met for a bilateral meeting on Monday, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Manila.

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday spoke of the "great relationship" he had with his Philippine counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, as the two controversial leaders met on the sidelines of an Asian summit.

Their meeting was one of the most anticipated of the summit of East and Southeast Asian leaders in Manila, with human rights groups pressing Trump to take a tough line on Duterte over his bloody war on drugs, in which thousands of people have been killed.

Duterte, who has spoken highly of Trump, last week said he would tell him to "lay off" should Trump decide to raise the issue of alleged human rights violations.

Trump was criticized in May for praising Duterte during a phone call for the "great job" he was doing to counter illegal narcotics.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)