Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, took to the New York Times – of all places – to defended the diplomacy efforts of Trump’s administration. In the new op-ed he explained how, despite the significant challenges before them, he is proud of the meaningful progress that he and Trump have made.
In an op-ed piece published in the New York Times, Tillerson ruminated, “Over the past year, the United States has faced immense challenges in its dealings with North Korea, China and Russia, and in its efforts to defeat international terrorism. But Americans should be encouraged by the progress the State Department and United States Agency for International Development have made in pushing for global peace and stability.”
Tillerson believes that one of President Trump’s finest diplomatic works is the sanctions on North Korea.
He wrote, “Our peaceful pressure campaign has cut off roughly 90 percent of North Korea’s export revenue, much of which is used to fund illegal weapons development.”
“We hope that this international isolation will pressure the regime into serious negotiations on the abandonment of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. A door to dialogue remains open, but we have made it clear that the regime must earn its way back to the negotiating table. Until denuclearization occurs, the pressure will continue,” he continued
The White House has been constantly demanding North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons and Tillerson has supported that it should be done before the State decided to come to the negotiation table. Tillerson further wants to open a dialogue with North Korea over this matter.
President Trump’s aggressive administration strategy to counter groups associated with terror has been also touted by Rex Tillerson in his op-ed in the New York Times.
“As a result, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has accelerated operations and has recaptured virtually all of previously held Islamic State territory in Iraq and Syria, while noting that this has cleared the way for “humanitarian aid and assistance to get into such areas,” he further added
Over the last few months, the tensions between Rex Tillerson and the White House have risen – thus, Tillerson came up with an op-ed to voice his support in favor of Trump’s administration. The future of Secretary of the State has been called into question many times in the past few months.
When asked about the appointment of the secretary of State at Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” show, Trump stated “We’ll see. I don’t know who’s going to be [at the State Department for the] duration.” He further stated that Tillerson is “doing the best he can” and has been a top diplomat working for White House in this position.
“In spite of the challenges, I remain optimistic about the power of diplomacy to resolve conflicts and advance American interests,” Tillerson concluded in his op-ed.
