Tillerson defends US’s foreign policy record
THE United States’ top diplomat defended his country’s foreign policy record, saying progress had been made in the last year to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and to counter the “immense challenges” posed by Russia, China and Iran.
In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said some 90% of Pyongyang’s export earnings had been cut off by a series of international sanctions after the Trump administration “abandoned the failed policy of strategic patience”.
Tensions have escalated dramatically on the Korean peninsula this year after the isolated but nucleararmed regime staged a series of atomic and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests – and as US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un traded personal insults.
Washington wants North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme and has spearheaded three rounds of UN sanctions against the isolated regime, restricting crucial exports of coal, iron, seafood and textiles from the cash-starved state.
Pyongyang has hit out at those sanctions, calling the latest round “an act of war”, and has vowed to never give up its nuclear programme. In his piece, Tillerson said “a door to dialogue remains open” for Pyongyang but warned “until denuclearisation occurs, the pressure will continue”.
At the same time he called on China – Pyongyang’s only major ally – to “do more” to pressure North Korea.
Addressing relations with Moscow, Tillerson said the Trump administration had “no illusions about the regime we are dealing with” and that they were “on guard against Russian aggression”.
But he added that Washington needed to “recognise the need to work with Russia where mutual interests intersect”.
On Iran he struck tone.
“The flawed nuclear deal is no longer the focal point of our policy toward Iran,” he warned. “We are now confronting the totality of Iranian threats.”
Critics say Tillerson’s first year in office has seen scores of key diplomatic posts go unfilled, embassies hampered by cuts and many veteran staff leave the foreign service altogether. — AFP a less conciliatory