Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Russia sanctions drove Tillerson White House visits
Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil chief who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, visited the White House repeatedly as sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2014 to make sure his company’s European competitors didn’t gain an edge in that country.
Tillerson made at least 20 visits to the White House during President Barack Obama’s two terms, visitor logs show, including five after Obama began authorizing the 2014 sanctions in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine.
Tillerson was concerned that European nations might not apply the restrictions as strictly as the U.S., giving Exxon’s European competitors an advantage, according to a White House official at the time, who asked not to be identified because the purpose of the visits was never made public.
As secretary of state, Tillerson would play a central role in deciding whether and how to maintain the current sanctions regime against Russia. Hundreds of people, including Igor Sechin, president of Russian oil giant Rosneft — Exxon’s partner in Russia — are targeted under the U.S. sanctions over President Vladimir Putin’s intervention in Ukraine.
“White House officials regularly meet with business leaders from a wide range of industries to discuss policy issues,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said in an email. “These meetings help keep the White House apprised of outside perspectives.”
Members of Congress have signaled that Tillerson’s close relations with Putin will bring tough questions in his Senate confirmation hearing to serve as the top U.S. diplomat.
The Exxon chairman and CEO met several times with Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council, according to the White House logs.
Exxon signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft in 2011, and in 2014 the companies together drilled an exploration well in Arctic waters. When the Obama administration imposed sanctions later that year, Exxon successfully lobbied the administration to give it a twoweek reprieve to keep working on the $700 million well in the Kara Sea long enough to cap it for an eventual return.