REX TILLERSON tends to shy away from the glare of publicity, but this week he was unable to avoid it. On April 12th America's secretary of state arrived in Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries, particularly over Syria. When Mr Tillerson's plane touched down in Moscow, it was not even clear whether President Vladimir Putin would deign to meet with him. He did, for a full two hours. But the atmosphere was far from cordial. The two men sparred over Syria's use of chemical weapons against its own citizens and over Russia’s interference in the American election.
“There is a low level of trust between our countries,” Mr Tillerson said afterwards at a press conference with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who had also attended the meeting. “The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship.”
The meeting is further evidence of a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries since Donald Trump became president. During last year's election campaign, Mr Trump regularly sang Mr Putin’s praises—“very smart!”—contrasting his popularity among Russians favourably with then-president Barack Obama’s standing in...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2pdvSTP
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