WELLINGTON: US President Donald Trump has told his top diplomat to ignore trouble in Washington and re-engage with Russia to rebuild ties, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday. With ex-FBI director James Comey due to testify to Congress on Thursday, Tillerson was asked if he feared the administration would be brought down over allegations of Trump’s election campaign ties with Moscow. “The president has been clear to me, ‘Do not let what’s happening over here in the political realm prevent you from the work you need to do in this relationship’,” he told reporters in New Zealand. Comey’s testimony will be his first public remarks since being fired by Trump last month, and represents a moment of danger for the embattled president. His sacking came as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probes possible collusion between Trump’s election campaign team and Russia—which US intelligence believes hoped to tilt the election in the Republican’s favor.

Source: Manila Times June 06, 2017 08:26 UTC