Tillerson will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the U. S. then travel to Moscow.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not attend the April 5-6 meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers, according to a new report.
Tillerson will instead stay in the U. S. to be on hand for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping , before traveling to Russia the following week, Reuters said Monday .
Reuters said it exclusively confirmed Tillerson’s expected schedule with four current and former U. S. officials.
Tillerson will instead greet Xi alongside President Trump when the Chinese leader visits America on April 6-7.
Xi plans on huddling with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
Two sources told Reuters that Tillerson then expects to visit Moscow on April 12.
Two former U. S. officials told Reuters that Tillerson’s absence at the NATO summit and subsequent visit to Russia may fuel perceptions that Trump favors bigger powers over smaller U. S. allies.
“It feeds this narrative that somehow the Trump administration is playing footsy with Russia,” one source told Reuters.
