Rex Tillerson Insists Administration Has ‘No Illusions' About Russia
- 6 years ago
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a Wednesday New York Times op-ed that the current administration is well aware of what it’s up against in regard to Russia.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a Wednesday New York Times op-ed that the Trump administration is well aware of what it's up against in regard to Russia.
"We have no illusions about the regime we are dealing with," Tillerson wrote. "The United States today has a poor relationship with a resurgent Russia that has invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine in the last decade and undermined the sovereignty of Western nations by meddling in our election and others'."
"While we are on guard against Russian aggression, we recognize the need to work with Russia where mutual interests intersect," Tillerson added.
Notably, President Trump has yet to fully acknowledge that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race.
An intelligence report released in January to the public said, in part, "we assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election."
"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," the report also noted. "We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."
Trump has been rather consistent in dismissing the Russia probe.
After meeting with Putin at a summit in Asia, Trump said, "Every time he sees me he says, 'I didn't do that,' and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a Wednesday New York Times op-ed that the Trump administration is well aware of what it's up against in regard to Russia.
"We have no illusions about the regime we are dealing with," Tillerson wrote. "The United States today has a poor relationship with a resurgent Russia that has invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine in the last decade and undermined the sovereignty of Western nations by meddling in our election and others'."
"While we are on guard against Russian aggression, we recognize the need to work with Russia where mutual interests intersect," Tillerson added.
Notably, President Trump has yet to fully acknowledge that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race.
An intelligence report released in January to the public said, in part, "we assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election."
"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," the report also noted. "We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."
Trump has been rather consistent in dismissing the Russia probe.
After meeting with Putin at a summit in Asia, Trump said, "Every time he sees me he says, 'I didn't do that,' and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."