Tillerson’s trip to Moscow

This editorial appeared in The Baltimore Sun:

No matter what is accomplished by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s timely visit to Moscow this week, the somewhat press-shy former ExxonMobil CEO already scored points at home with a smart takedown of Russian President Vladimir Putin. More important, he has demonstrated respect for factual reality and for the potential benefits of diplomacy, neither of which President Donald Trump seems to share.

First, the takedown. When asked on the Sunday talk shows, Tillerson observed that the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria reflected Russian “incompetence” for its failure to hold up a 2013 agreement in which it guaranteed destruction of Bashar Assad’s chemical arsenal. That hits Putin where he lives, as he either has to stick to his patently false claim that no chemical weapons attack took place or admit to Russia’s failure.

But here’s the other notable observation by the secretary of state: He also spoke unabashedly over the weekend about Russia’s meddling in the last election and how it “undermines any hope of improving relations” with the United States. He even went further, fretting that Russia is now pursuing “similar tactics” to affect elections in Europe.

Given that Tillerson’s own business ties to Putin (and lack of diplomatic experience) raised doubts about his appointment, this kind of hard line response is a pretty remarkable development.

If Tillerson demonstrates any progress in regard to Syria, it might be to show Trump what can be accomplished through negotiation and not just by lobbing missiles from warships.