Rex Tillerson firm on Russian threat
Trump’s secretary of state nominee, who received an award from Putin in 2012, says Nato allies are right to be alarmed by Moscow’s behaviour
Washington — Russia’s actions during the US presidential election and its behaviour towards Ukraine dominated the confirmation hearing of Rex Tillerson, US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, as senators pressed him on Wednesday on how he would deal with aggression from Moscow. Tillerson, 64, the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, faced a grilling on his views of Russian President Vladimir Putin and tough questioning from Republican Senator Marco Rubio about whether he believed Putin was a war criminal. Rubio specifically referred to Russia’s military actions in support of the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war. "I would not use that term," Tillerson said. Tillerson also declined to say whether he would support upholding President Barack Obama’s executive order imposing fresh sanctions, which was in retaliation for what Washington charges was Moscow’s hacking and other efforts to tilt the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favour. Tillerson said...
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