The Trump Administration’s Gradual Retreat From Europe

Diplomacy is a subtle art, which is why it is often over-interpreted. Reports on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Russia in April but not attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers earlier in the month are as a sign that the Trump administration is courting Russia and rejecting its European allies—a sign that comes just after the FBI director an investigation into possible connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the, Tillerson may be skipping the NATO gathering in order to attend a summit that same week with the Chinese president in the United States, and he’ll be discussing the military campaign against ISIS with his counterparts in NATO countries during a conference in Washington, D.C. this week.