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.
