I think all three of those men [James Mattis, Mike Pompeo and Rex Tillerson] that you just mentioned, depending on what deal was struck with Russia, depending on what terms the deal would have and what incremental steps we would have to take and measurements that we would have to take with potentially Russia in a deal, some of those positions could change, and some of President-elect Donald Trump's positions could change depending on what deal could be struck.
[Rex] Tillerson himself has no deputy, for example. Latest plans from the [Donald Trump's] administration call for a 37 percent cut to the agency`s budget, 37 percent.
Mr. Tillerson has always been quite a tough negotiator and we understand that he's using lots of information and materials that have been prepared by people in State of Department who, well modestly, speaking are not the fans of my country and of revival of bilateral relationship between America and Russia.
I mean, Rex Tillerson is in the business of exploring and finding oil across the globe.
I worry about the lack of experience that Rex Tillerson has had on the diplomatic front and, frankly, I think that's true for many of the appointments to [Donald] Trump's cabinet.
[Rex] Tillerson is there to get these sanctions [against Russia] lifted. I believe it. Just watch him!
It's a little premature to be claiming that this is a done deal, but certainly Rex Tillerson is American icon and businessman that I think is a pretty incredible guy.
Tillerson, at ExxonMobil, brokered multibillion-dollar deals with Russia, meeting with Putin multiple times. In 2013, he received the Order of Friendship award from Putin himself. But Tillerson today said he'd support continuing sanctions against Russia for now. He also implied his intimate knowledge of Russia meant he understood its strategy, and could anticipate its moves, to America's benefit.
The closeness [of Rex Tillerson] to [Vladimir] Putin will be one of the unifying issues between the Republican critics and Democratic critics.
If we could get along with Russia, that's a positive thing. We have a very talented man, Rex Tillerson, who is going to be meeting with them shortly.
