Rex Tillerson reaffirms defense pledge, condemns North Korea rights violations

So the fundamental question remains: Does Trump’s vision or does Tillerson’s vision of U.S. -Russia relations represent American “policy”?

Mr Lavrov, asked if the escalating chaos in Washington and the departure of Mr Flynn was of concern to Moscow, replied: “You should know we do not interfere in the domestic matters of other countries“.

Although the secretary of state is traditionally included in virtually all formal presidential contacts with foreign leaders, Tillerson did not attend Trump’s meetings over the past week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In discussions with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, he will seek to strike a balance between standing firm on issues such as Ukraine, Iran and nuclear weapons, and trying to find ground from which to build the new relationship sought by Trump.

And three of Mr Trump’s aides have been forced out over allegations about their links with Russian Federation, including National Security Adviser Mike Flynn earlier this week.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington was willing to work with Russian Federation, but only in instances that would benefit the USA and its allies.

Mr Tillerson’s somewhat firmer position on relations with Russian Federation followed Defence Secretary James Mattis’ comment that the USA is not in a position for military collaboration with the Kremlin.

Tillerson was quick to add his support for a US-Russia coalition to defeat ISIS, saying he would look for “ways for pragmatic and constructive cooperation in areas where our interests overlap”. This was said to have irked Lavrov, who said “Why did you shush them out?“.

On Russia, Mr Ayrault said he was happy to hear Mr Tillerson say that sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine would only be lifted if there was progress on the Minsk agreement to end fighting in east Ukraine.

Rex Tillerson arrived in Bonn on Wednesday on his maiden foreign trip as USA secretary of state to attend a summit of G20 top economies at a time when many are wondering how far President Donald Trump’s “America First” message will reshape us foreign policy.

He said the two leaders had agreed that a meeting between the USA and Russian president would happen at the earliest opportunity.

Fourth, albeit a small thing, the State Department Twitter feed retweeted a tweet devoted entirely to the Defense Secretary’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, while insisting at Tuesday’s briefing that President Trump “has been incredibly tough on Russia”, noted how UN Ambassador Nikki Haley “stood before the U.N. Security Council on her first day and strongly denounced the Russian occupation of Crimea”.

The Bonn meeting is a precursor to a G-20 summit scheduled for July in Hamburg in what may be the first time Trump meets Putin in person.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir sit after a meeting about Yemen at the Steigenberger Hotel in Bad Neuenahr, near Bonn, Thursday.