Tillerson: US-Russia relationship ‘at an all-time low point’ since end of Cold War

by Rebecca Savransky - 05/14/17 9:00 AM ET

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during an interview that aired Sunday said the relationship between the U.S. and Russia is at its lowest point in decades.

“The president, I think, has made it clear that he feels it’s important that we reengage with Russia,” Tillerson told NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“The relationship with Russia, as he has described, and I have described as well, is, I think, at an all-time low point since the end of the Cold War, with a very low level of trust.”

{mosads}Tillerson said he thinks it’s in the interest of the American people and of those around the world that the U.S. tries to improve its relationship with Russia.

“So the president, I think, is committed to at least make an effort in that regard,” he said, “and he has certainly asked me to make an important effort as well.”

Tillerson also said that there is wide agreement that it’s not “healthy” for the world for the U.S.-Russia relationship to “remain at this low level.”

“Whether we can improve it or not remains to be seen,” he said. “It’s going to take some time. It’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

The secretary of State during the interview also addressed the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, noting the U.S. isn’t trying to start “with a clean state” with Russia.

“We’re starting with the slate we have. And all the problems that are on that slate. We don’t dismiss any of them. We don’t give anyone a free pass on any of them,” he said.

“They’re part of the entire nature of the discussion we’re having with the Russians. And yes, there are a large number of issues that we have to get around to addressing in order to put this relationship back together, if that is indeed possible.”

President Trump has dismissed the investigation into his campaign’s ties with Russia. Last week, he tweeted that the story that there was collusion between his campaign and Russia was “fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.”

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