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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson takes his seat for a meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not in picture) on the sidelines of a gathering of the G20 meeting in Germany. Photo: Reuters

Doubts over Trump’s foreign policy gradually calmed by Tillerson

Donald Trump

When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came to Germany this week to meet with his counterparts, he faced roomfuls of worried diplomats.

Many sought clues from the fledgling US diplomat who to that point had made no public remarks on foreign policy since taking office two weeks ago. Long-held US stances on NATO, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Iran and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seemed likely to be up for debate in a new administration.

But as Tillerson left the Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers Friday afternoon, there was a palpable sense of relief, mingled with lingering concerns about the direction of US foreign policy in the Trump administration.

The relief stemmed in part from a sense that Tillerson is a serious man who came to Bonn on Wednesday in what his aides called “listening mode,” willing to hear their viewpoints.

“Met a lot of people, made a lot of new friends,” Tillerson told reporters.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson boards his plane at Cologne Bonn Airport, western Germany, as he leaves after a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group. Photo: Reuters

Asked if he was taking any messages back to the president, he replied, “Many,” but declined to elaborate.

After Tillerson had departed, the German and French foreign ministers said they welcomed his involvement in a meeting on Syrian peace talks due to restart next week. There had been concerns the United States would tolerate the continued rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in favour of an all-out effort to defeat Islamic State militants.

“I believe it is important and absolutely instrumental to have a close dialogue with the United States on the Syria issue, and on many other issues,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Tillerson “participated vigorously” in the discussion on Syria, and the US allies were assured that Washington backs dialogue, not just military force.

“All the participants want a political solution, because a military solution alone won’t lead to peace in Syria,” Gabriel said.

Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (L), US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talk after a group photo of G-20 foreign ministers during a meeting in Germany. Photo: AFP

Diplomats said they also got the sense that there would be no radical shift in the US stance toward Russia, despite Tillerson’s friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s repeated praise of Putin.

One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the participants were encouraged when Tillerson said the administration believes that before it can consider lifting any sanctions against Russia, Moscow must meet its commitments to help end the fighting in the Russian-speaking, separatist region of eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov characterised his discussions with Tillerson, whom he had never met before, as “pragmatic and businesslike.”

“We reaffirmed the existence of similar or identical interests, primarily with regard to the irreconcilable struggle against terrorism in the context of our cooperation within the political settlement in Syria and other countries where terrorism has taken root,” Lavrov said in a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry homepage. “We also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and Ukraine. Our American partners have expressed interest in joining the efforts that are being taken to settle these conflicts.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the G20 meeting in in Bonn, Germany. Photo: Xinhua

Tillerson apparently had a cordial meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China’s official Xinhua news agency reported they had discussed ties between the two countries, despite Trump’s breach of the one-China policy when he took a phone call from the leader of Taiwan before his inauguration.

State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said Tillerson expressed concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, and urged China to help “moderate” its neighbour’s behaviour.

The one note of discord came from France, over the Trump administration’s willingness to step back from insisting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ayrault told reporters he finds the US position “confused and worrying.”

“I wanted to remind him after the meeting between Donald Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that in France’s view, there are no other options other than the perspective of a two-state solution, and that the other option which Mr. Tillerson brought up was not realistic, fair or balanced,” he said. Ayrault did not specify what other option Tillerson had raised.

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