President Donald Trump’s top foreign policy and defense officials publicly criticized Russian actions Friday in comments aimed at reassuring US allies.
Both Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis criticized Russian involvement in Ukraine. Mattis, appearing with his British counterpart in London, also called out the Putin regime for “mucking around” in other people’s elections — a particularly notable claim coming at a time when federal and congressional investigators are probing alleged Russian meddling in the US elections last November.
“We look to engaging with Russia on a political or diplomatic level, but right now, Russia is choosing to be a strategic competitor,” Mattis said during a news conference with Michael Fallon, the UK defense secretary. He also said “Russian activity” in Afghanistan “gives us concern,” though he stopped short of saying the Putin government was arming the Taliban.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Tillerson spoke ahead of a meeting there by saying NATO posture in Eastern Europe in response to “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere” would be a top subject of conversation at the meeting.
A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry dismissed Tillerson’s remarks, telling CNN, “We want to see the US foreign policy, not just quotes.”
In response to Mattis, Alexey Pushkov, a senior Russian lawmaker, tweeted, “New US administration sounds just like the old one — Mattis is indistinguishable from (former Defense Secretary Ash) Carter, Tillerson is talking about ‘Russian aggression.’ (Barack) Obama and (Hillary) Clinton must be happy.”
Tillerson is in Brussels to reinforce US commitment to NATO — an organization Trump has repeatedly criticized — and referred to the alliance as “the bedrock for transatlantic security.”
The Trump administration’s top diplomat, however, reiterated on Friday Trump’s call for members to increase their financial contributions to the organization.