WASHINGTON – The United States is prepared to partner with Pakistan to
defeat terrorist organisations seeking safe havens, US Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson wrote in an op-ed published in the New York Times
on
Wednesday.
In an opinion piece titled ‘I Am Proud of Our Diplomacy’, the US’s top
diplomat said Pakistan “must demonstrate its desire to partner with us” to
prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.
“Pakistan must contribute by combating terrorist groups on its own soil,”
he wrote, adding that a commitment to stopping terrorism and extremism had
motivated the Trump administration to unveil a new South Asia strategy,
which focuses on Afghanistan.
“That country [Afghanistan] cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, as
it was in the days before the Sept 11 attacks.”
Tillerson defended his country’s foreign policy record in the article,
saying progress had been made in the last year to rein in North Korea’s
nuclear ambitions and to counter the “immense challenges” posed by Russia,
China and Iran.
The secretary said some 90 per cent of Pyongyang’s export earnings had been
cut off by a series of international sanctions after the Trump
administration “abandoned the failed policy of strategic patience”.
Tensions have escalated dramatically on the Korean peninsula this year
after the isolated but nuclear-armed regime staged a series of atomic and
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests — and as US President
Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un traded personal insults.
Washington wants North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme and has
spearheaded three rounds of UN sanctions against the isolated regime,
restricting crucial exports of coal, iron, seafood and textiles from the
cash-starved state.
Pyongyang has hit out at those sanctions, calling the latest round “an act
of war”, and has vowed to never give up its nuclear programme.
In his piece, Tillerson said “a door to dialogue remains open” for
Pyongyang but warned “until denuclearization occurs, the pressure will
continue”.
At the same time he called on China — Pyongyang’s only major ally — to “do
more” to pressure North Korea.
Trump’s administration has been dogged by allegations his campaign team
colluded with Russia to help him win last year’s election.
Addressing relations with Moscow, Tillerson said the Trump administration
had “no illusions about the regime we are dealing with” and that they were
“on guard against Russian aggression”.
But he added that Washington needed to “recongize the need to work with
Russia where mutual interests intersect”, citing Syria civil war where the
two countries have backed opposing sides but pushed for peace talks.
On Iran he struck a less conciliatory tone.
“The flawed nuclear deal is no longer the focal point of our policy toward
Iran,” he warned. “We are now confronting the totality of Iranian threats.”
He also defended his cuts to the State Department and USAID budget, saying
they were designed to “address root problems that lead to inefficiencies
and frustrations”.
Critics say Tillerson’s first year in office has seen scores of key
diplomatic posts go unfilled, embassies hampered by cuts and many veteran
staff leave the foreign service altogether.