Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is proud of the Trump administration’s progress in the world diplomacy despite, as he says, “immense challenges.”
“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,” he wrote Wednesday in The New York Times.
North Korea sanctions are some of President Trump’s finest diplomatic work in Tillerson’s opinion.
“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,” Tillerson wrote.
“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 added.
Rex Tillerson is the only member of the White House who is continuously trying to open a dialogue with North Korea while the rest of the White House is willing to do the same only after the regime gives up its nuclear weapons.
Other proud moments of the administration mentioned by Tillerson were the victories against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
It is also important to mention that this op-ed arrives after some tensions between Trump and Tillerson over the past few months, which gave rise to some talks that the Secretary of State’s future in the administration might be short, The Hill reports.
In November, Trump was asked in an interview on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” if Tillerson would remain part of the administration, to which Trump replied:
“We’ll see. I don’t know who’s going to be at the State Department for the duration.”
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