|
Hopes of detente in Moscow's relations with Washington under
Donald Trump, who had praised President Putin before winning the
White House, have faded as the countries have imposed sanctions
and expelled diplomats in recent months.
Addressing a U.S. citizen at a plenary session of an economic
forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin said: "We
awarded your compatriot Mr. Tillerson the Order of Friendship,
but he seems to have fallen in with the wrong company and to be
steering in the other direction."
"I hope that the wind of cooperation, friendship and reciprocity
will eventually put him on the right path," Putin added, drawing
cheers from the crowd.
In 2013 Putin awarded Tillerson, then CEO of energy giant Exxon
Mobil, the Order of Friendship, a Russian state honor, for his
"significant contribution to strengthening cooperation in the
energy sector".
Russia's relations with the United States deteriorated over its
annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and
support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine,
prompting Washington to impose economic sanctions against
Moscow.
The Kremlin, which has denied U.S. allegations it meddled in the
presidential vote, had heaped praise on Trump during his
election campaign, saying it supported efforts to improve
Russian-American relations.
But Trump, who was faced scrutiny over the alleged ties of his
entourage with Russia, reluctantly signed into law fresh
sanctions against Moscow, further straining relations.
(Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva, Denis Pinchuk and Katya Golubkova;
Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
