Rex Tillerson will miss Nato talks for China meeting and visit to Russia
Last edited Tue Mar 21, 2017, 09:49 AM - Edit history (1)
Not even hiding it now are they?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/21/rex-tillerson-nato-talks-china-visit-russia
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April meeting of Nato foreign ministers for a visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, US officials said on Monday, a step allies may see as putting Moscow’s concerns ahead of theirs.
Reuters news agency reported that Tillerson intends to miss what would be his first meeting in Brussels, on 5-6 April, with the 28 Nato members to attend President Donald Trump’s expected 6-7 April talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, citing four current and former US officials.
The decisions to skip the Nato meeting and to visit Moscow risked feeding a perception that Trump may be putting US dealings with big powers before those of smaller nations that depend on Washington for their security, two former US officials told Reuters.
Trump has often praised Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Tillerson worked with Russia’s government for years as a top executive at Exxon Mobil Corp and has questioned the wisdom of sanctions against Russia that he said could harm US businesses.
State department spokesman Mark Toner had no immediate comment on whether Tillerson would skip the Nato meeting or visit Russia. Two US officials said Tillerson planned to visit Moscow on 12 April.
Link to tweet
= new reply since forum marked as read
