Rex Tillerson was confirmed to be United States Secretary of State and sworn in on February 1, 2017. He worked for Exxon from 1975 until 2017. He was named CEO of Exxon in 2006.

Through his work with Exxon he’s developed close ties with Vladimir Putin and Rosneft Chairman, Igor Sechin. Exxon had been seeking drilling opportunities in the Russian controlled regions of the Arctic. Sanctions imposed upon Russia in September of 2014 have stopped the project. Exxon spent lobbying money to Nickles Group and Avenue Solutions to lobby against sanctions. The pending project has an estimated value of $300 billion. Tillerson was awarded the “Order of Friendship” by Putin in 2013 for his efforts.

“He has had more interactive time with Vladimir Putin than probably any other American with the exception of Henry Kissinger,”- John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary,-Wall Street Journal

Despite no specific training in diplomacy, Tillerson was picked by Donald Trump to be Secretary of State. He has been in vocal opposition to sanctions against Russia since 2014. Despite this he declared the seizure of Crimea to be illegal. After the U.S. Senate passed additional sanctions against Russia, Tillerson called for “flexibility.

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