Following are excerpts from the editorial that appeared in the January 1-18 edition of Ukrainian News, based in Edmonton, Alberta.
Of all of President-elect Donald Trump’s actions preceding his inauguration, none is more ominous for Ukraine than the decision to nominate Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.
When you include Exxon’s corporate holdings in Russia, Tillerson’s personal stake in Exxon stock, and the extremely cozy relations the tycoon enjoys with Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, you end up with conflicts of interest that are not only colossal, but of historically unprecedented proportions. Just to name a few:
• Exxon has a potential $500 billion at stake in a massive exploration partnership with the Russian government’s oil company Rosneft in one of the many deals Tillerson worked out with Putin. The Obama administration blocked the deal when it imposed sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine.
• Exxon owns drilling rights on 63.7 million acres of Russian land. This is five times as much territory as it leases in the United States itself.
• Between 2011 and 2013, Exxon signed a series of deals with Rosneft to explore the Black Sea, develop shale resources in western Siberia, and – most importantly – drill for oil in the Arctic, one of the biggest untapped fossil fuel resources left in the world. According to Blooomberg, these deals can bring in an estimated more than $8.2 trillion in untapped oil and gas. Russia lacks the technology to develop these on its own.
• Tillerson himself owns $218 million in Exxon stock and a pension reportedly worth $70 million.
• Putin has awarded Tillerson Russia’s Order of Friendship medal for his company’s oil work in the country.
Just before the U.S. Senate adjourned on December 12, Exxon Mobil successfully lobbied against the implementation of the STAND for Ukraine Act which would have enshrined President Barack Obama’s sanctions against Russia for five years. This gives Trump and Tillerson a free hand to remove them as soon as they take power.
When Tillerson’s voice is added to that of National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn, another pro-Russian sycophant, and Trump himself, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, the one Trump nominee who has a realistic view of the danger an aggressive Russia poses for world peace, will find himself in a very lonely corner indeed.
But fortunately, the United States – unlike Canada – has a separation of power between the legislative and executive branches of government and all Cabinet nominees must meet with Senate approval. This is where a concerted effort could still prevent Tillerson from assuming his duties. Who knows, if Tillerson’s appointment is blocked, maybe Trump will, after all, nominate Mitt Romney, whose position regarding Russia is 180 degrees opposite to Tillerson’s. During his 2012 Presidential campaign Romney criticized Obama for being too soft on Russia, famously proclaiming that Russia was America’s No. 1 “geopolitical threat.”
…not only does Tillerson have colossal conflicts of interests related to his holdings in a hostile foreign power, Trump’s pro-Russia policy is a total rejection of nearly a century of historical Republican positions. It is most especially a rejection of that icon of American conservatism, Ronald Reagan, who effectively brought down the “Evil Empire” by escalating the arms race to such a degree that the Soviet Union collapsed under the economic pressure.
While we, as Canadians of Ukrainian origin, can only watch from the sidelines, the Ukrainian American community can organize an effective campaign to convince U.S. senators of the imperative need to block Tillerson’s nomination. We are therefore appealing to the Ukrainian American community to launch such a campaign. It is not only us, but Ukrainians worldwide, that are relying on Ukrainian Americans to try to stop his nomination because it would mean disaster for all of us – and especially for Ukraine.