Trump Calls Colombia's Petro 'Terrific' After White House Meeting

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Bernama-dpa) -- US President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro met at the White House on Tuesday for the first time after weeks of mutual accusations, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The talks focused on cooperation to combat drug trafficking.

At a joint press conference afterwards, Trump said the two got along "very well" and described Petro as "terrific." The Colombian leader, however, struck a more reserved tone.

Trump's remarks marked a shift from his recent rhetoric.

Only weeks earlier, the Republican president had described Petro as a "sick man" who liked to produce cocaine and sell it to the United States. 

On Tuesday, Trump said his earlier hostility stemmed from not knowing Petro well, adding that the two sides were now working on an agreement aimed at reducing the flow of illegal drugs into the US.

Speaking at a press conference, Petro said there were differing views on the problem of drug trafficking. 

Instead of pursuing a hardline military approach against criminal organisations, Petro said his government wanted to persuade farmers in Colombia to grow legal agricultural products such as coffee or cocoa rather than coca, while at the same time taking resolute action against the financiers of the international drug trade.

"He did not change his way of thinking on many issues and neither did I," Petro said of Trump, adding that pacts were often forged between opponents who find common ground.

--BERNAMA-dpa