Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said that a week is a long time in politics. After months of Donald Trump’s foreign policy being something of a mystery, Secretary of State Rex Tilleron’s glob-trotting journey has made things a lot clearer.

The language of American foreign policy has changed significantly under Trump and Tillerson via-a-vis Obama/Clinton and Kerry. Ideology is and a kind of heavy handed but at times, surprisingly cordial pragmatism is in.

Here are the five ways this has manifested itself.

The Obama administration had a tendency to lecture other nations about how they ought to run their countries, using diplomatic avenues to deliver the message. Diplomacy is not about speaking down to other nations but about speaking respectfully to others in the pursuit of cooperation and understanding in areas of mutual self-interest.

Thus far, the two most important countries in terms of regional and geo-political influence that Tillerson has visited, have been China and Turkey.

In both cases, Tillerson used the language of good will, cooperation and respect in order to emphasise the nature of the relationship.

This is a stark contrast to the Obama administration who often offered provocative and disrespectful remarks to China and who consigned Turkey to the realm of an unimportant, distant regional player. Although, Turkey’s regional role has been overwhelmingly negative, it has nevertheless been very prominent. Turkey cannot be ignored, even though Obama tried his best to ignore it.

Obama’s approach was both foolhardy and objectively wrong. China is a superpower and the US depends economically on China far more than many in the west let on. If anything, China has the upper hand in future negotiations with the US.

Therefore approaching China with anything other than a position of respect is insulting to this key superpower. Obama’s approach was the antithesis of diplomacy.

In respect of Turkey, Washington and Ankara no longer see eye-to-eye in Syria. Turkey lists the Kurdish forces in Syria as terrorist groups while the US now firmly backs them both in their fight against Salifism and more importantly, in their ambitions for Kurdish autonomy inside Syria or moreover for a Kurdish state carved from legitimate Syrian territory.

In spite of these diametric differences, Tillerson’s language in Ankara was that of cooperation and friendship. Although not entirely honest, diplomacy is about rhetorically minimising differences rather than exaggerating them. In this sense, perhaps Tillerson has learned from Russian diplomats who in spite of vast differences with Turkey, always refer to the Turks (and not just the Turks) as partners.

During the Obama years, Russia was the consistent target of double-standard laden lectures and overt provocations. Making matters worse, the Obama administration participated in the overthrow of the legitimate President of Ukraine, installing the current fascist regime in its place.

Under Trump, the lectures have mostly stopped. Apart from a few attempts by Nikki Haley to do her best impersonation of Samantha Power, when it comes to Tillerson and Trump himself, the insults directed towards Russia have stopped.

The fact that South Korea, China and Turkey have taken precedence for Tillerson is not a sign that Russia is unimportant, but instead it is a sign that the Trump administration is willing to ‘live and let live’ with Russia. Any more substantive diplomatic talks may have to wait until the rapidly disintegrating ‘Russiagate’ fake-scandal dies down.

That being said, rumours of Rex Tillerson visiting Moscow persist and yesterday Putin gave a clear indication of where and when he is ready to meet his US counterpart.

By allowing Russia to slip on the diplomatic back-burner, Trump is easing relations by omission, his only realistic option given the anti-Russian domestic political climate in Washington.

Although Rex Tillerson’s bellicose language against North Korea was highly inappropriate, especially as it was delivered in South Korea, it is an indication that under Trump, the US is more concerned with their perceived views of the ‘balance of power’ than about using ideology to frame, shape and form geo-political relations.

Washington and Pyongyang have for decades engaged in cat and mouse rhetoric, but even the most paranoid war-hawks on the Korea issue, privately concede that reviewed violence on the Korean peninsula is a remote possibility at best.

Tillerson’s Korean remarks were part of Donald Trump’s ‘tough guy’ approach to perceived threats. Thus far, it is all big stick rhetoric, probably designed for domestic US consumption and to assuage hawkish parties in Seoul.

4. All Quiet On Russia’s Western Front…sort of

The sheer amount of remarks by key US officials on Donbass and Kiev’s conflict has gone remarkably down. Whereas for Obama’s state department, one got the feeling that the US was prepared to risk wider world war to prop up the disgraceful regime in Kiev, Trump’s people increasingly seem to just want to totally ignore it, as though to wish the headache away.

Against this backdrop, the US Congress has cut funding to Kiev.

The NATO troops ordered to Poland and the three Baltic states under Obama are still there, but Trump’s remarks to Angela Merkel about NATO members needing to pay up, again confirms that Trump does not possess the ideological zeal for a heavily armed, anti-Russian Europe that his predecessor was more or less obsessed with.

Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley have, in less than 24 hours, confirmed that regime change in Damascus is no longer an avowed US policy. The US still has designs for Syria involving Kurdish separatism, but the direct threat of removing President Assad through force, is now off the table.

Clarity is emerging in respect of Donald Trump’s foreign policy. It was never going to be ideal, but in more ways than one, the diplomatic language of Rex Tillerson is all ready far preferable to that of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.</s>ANKARA, Turkey — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad was up to the war-ravaged country’s people.

Speaking after talks in Ankara, he added there was “no space” between Turkey and the US over fighting the so-called Islamic State group — even as his Turkish counterpart reiterated a key point of discord.

“I think the .. longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” Tillerson told a joint news conference with Melvut Cavusoglu in Ankara.

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Under Barack Obama’s administration, the US made the departure of Assad a key policy aim, but new US President Donald Trump has put the accent firmly on defeating IS.

Ties between Ankara and Washington were strained under Obama particularly over US cooperation with Syrian Kurdish militia fighting against the Islamic State group.

Ankara views the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a “terror group” linked to Kurdish separatists waging an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984, but Washington regards them as the best force fighting the IS.

Turkey has suggested it wants to join any operation to capture the IS bastion of Raqqa but without involvement of Kurdish militia.

Tillerson hailed Turkey as a “key partner” in stabilization efforts in the fight against IS jihadists.

“There’s no space between Turkey and the US and our commitment to defeat Daesh, to defeat ISIS,” he added, using other names for IS.

But Cavusoglu said Ankara expected “better cooperation” with the Trump administration on the issue of Syrian Kurdish militia, adding that any US support for YPG would mean a risk for Syria’s future.

“It is not good or realistic to work with a terror group while fighting another terror group,” he added.

Years of diplomatic efforts have failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it started in March 2011 with protests against Assad’s regime.

Tillerson met Turkish leaders Thursday for talks clouded by differences over Syria, a day after Ankara announced the end of its military offensive there.

The trip comes after Turkey announced “Euphrates Shield,” its operation in northern Syria, had ended but did not say if troops had been withdrawn from the war-torn country.</s>NEW YORK: The United States is no longer making removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power a focus of its policy in the war-torn country, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama administration's initial stance on Assad's fate.

"Our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out," Ambassador Nikki Haley told a small group of reporters. "Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria.

"We can't necessarily focus on Assad the way that the previous administration did," she said.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said as early as August 2011 that Assad had to go. By September 2015, his administration had moderated its stance slightly, with Obama's secretary of state, John Kerry, saying that Assad had to go but the timing of his departure should be decided through negotiation.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking in Ankara, said Assad's longer-term status "will be decided by the Syrian people."</s>This month marked the sixth anniversary of the Syrian civil war, which began as peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Former President Barack Obama said, in the late summer of 2011, “Assad must go.” Though the United States gave some support to moderate Syrian rebels, Obama never intervened to help take down Assad. Meanwhile, the Syrian leader gained the full backing of the Russian military, which has helped him keep his grip on power. Now, the Trump administration is conceding to the reality that Assad will stay.

United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters that “our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out. Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria.” She added, “We can’t necessarily focus on Assad the way that the previous administration did.”

The U.S. outwardly acknowledging that ousting Assad isn’t on the to-do list is a blow to the moderate rebels, and something of a win for Russia, which took the risk and went all-in on Assad — which, given everything Russia-related right now, feels huge. But this is more a confirmation of an inevitable shift in U.S. policy than a complete reversal. The Obama administration had pushed for peace talks between the Assad government and the Syrian rebels (though the U.S. did reportedly scuttle an early deal because it wasn’t tough enough on Assad), but ousting him completely became extremely difficult the deeper Russia got involved on Assad’s behalf. The calculus also changed after the Aleppo cease-fire this December, which effectively put the once-divided Syrian city back under Assad’s control. The United States was pretty much frozen out of that process, with Turkey negotiating with Russia on behalf of the rebels to establish the truce.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also signaled a policy shift during a meeting in Turkey on Thursday, saying vaguely, “The status and the longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”</s>U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said the United States no longer believes that the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a prerequisite for resolving the civil war in Syria.

Speaking in New York on March 30, Haley said "our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out."

She added that Washington won't "focus on Assad the way that the previous administration [of President Barack Obama] did."

Earlier the same day, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking in Ankara, said Assad's future "will be decided by the Syrian people."

Responding to the U.S. comments, Syrian opposition spokesman Monzer Makhos told journalists in Geneva that "the opposition will never accept any role for Bashar al-Assad at any phase; there will be no change in our position."

Russia and Iran back Assad, while Turkey and the United States have in the past called for his removal.

In August 2011, Obama said that Assad must leave power. In 2015, then-Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad must go, but that the timing of his departure could be a subject of negotiation.

The war in Syria, which began with a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in March 2011, has left an estimated 300,000 people dead and has displaced millions.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP</s>While acknowledging the Syrian president is a 'hindrance' to peace, US ambassador to UN says he is no longer the focus.

The United States has said that it is no longer focused on ousting President Bashar al-Assad as it seeks a new strategy to end Syria's civil war.

American officials have been shifting away from their former insistence that he must go for some time, but now they have made it explicit.

 

In New York on Thursday, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Assad's history of human rights abuses against his own people.

But she said Washington would focus on working with powers like Turkey and Russia to seek a political settlement, rather than focusing on Assad.

"You pick and choose your battles," Haley told reporters.

"And when we're looking at this, it's about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out."

READ MORE: Implications for a Syrian transition under Assad

Shortly after Haley briefed a small group of journalists, US officials tried to clarify her comments.

A US mission official told Al Jazeera that while the US does not believe that Assad is a legitimate leader of Syria, his future is not the country's only concern.

The official said the US is also very interested in trying to create the conditions so that the Syrian people themselves can pick their new government, one without Assad.

Other objectives of the US in Syria are to get rid of the threat from ISIL and to curb Iranian influence, the official said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also addressed the future of Assad at a news conference in Turkey.

"I think the... longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people," Tillerson said, standing alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The comment reflected language long used by Assad's ally Russia, whose assistance Washington is courting.

The Syrian opposition, whose cooperation will be needed in any negotiated solution, reacted furiously to the US shift in stance.

"The opposition will never accept any role for Bashar al-Assad at any phase," said Monzer Makhos, a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee, which represents the opposition in negotiations over Syria's war.

"There will be no change in our position," he warned.

Under Barack Obama's administration, the US made Assad's departure a key goal, but new president Donald Trump has put the accent on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq of the Levant group, known as ISIL or ISIS.

"Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done? Who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria," Haley said.

"We can't necessarily focus on Assad the way the previous administration maybe did. Do we think he's a hindrance? Yes," she said.

"Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No."

Previously, the United States has stuck by a UN-backed peace plan that would see Assad "transition" from office while an interim government is formed.

Tillerson is due in Moscow next month for talks with Russian leaders, and Trump has long argued the powers should work together against ISIL.

US-backed forces are closing in on the group's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, laying the groundwork for an assault on the city.

Numerous diplomatic efforts have failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011.

A fifth round of UN-sponsored peace talks is taking place in Geneva but no breakthrough has been reported and they are scheduled to end on Friday.</s>The Trump administration doubled down Thursday on prioritizing the fight against ISIS over ending the Syrian civil war and getting rid of its main protagonist, President Bashar al-Assad. Indicating a possible shift in US policy on the war in Syria from the days of the Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on a trip to Turkey that the "longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people."

Start the conversation, or Read more at WEHT.</s>Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad has been in power since 2000

The United States admitted Thursday that it is no longer focused on ousting Bashar al-Assad as it seeks a new strategy to end Syria’s civil war.

American officials have been shifting away from their former insistence that he must go for some time, but now they have made it explicit.

In New York, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Assad’s history of human rights abuses against his own people.

But she said Washington would focus on working with powers like Turkey and Russia to seek a political settlement, rather than focusing on Assad.

“And when we’re looking at this, it’s about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out.”

Shortly before Haley briefed a small group of journalists, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a similar signal at a news conference in Turkey.

“I think the… longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” Tillerson said, standing alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The Syrian opposition, whose cooperation will be needed in any negotiated solution, reacted furiously to the US shift in stance.

“The opposition will never accept any role for Bashar al-Assad at any phase,” said Monzer Makhos, a spokesman for the HNC, the opposition negotiating group.

“There will be no change in our position,” he warned.

Under Barack Obama’s administration, the US made Assad’s departure a key goal, but new president Donald Trump has put the accent on defeating the Islamic State group.

Tillerson’s reference to the Syrian people’s decision reflected language long used by Assad’s ally Russia, whose assistance Washington is courting.

“Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done? Who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria,” Haley said.

“We can’t necessarily focus on Assad the way the previous administration maybe did. Do we think he’s a hindrance? Yes,” she said.

“Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No.”

US officials sought to play down the significance of the change in tone, but experts said the switch in focus was an important admission.

Joseph Bahout, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington noted that Tillerson had spoken after meeting Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan was once a strong foe of Assad, but recently Turkish-backed rebels in Syria have focused on fighting Kurdish militias and the IS group.

Bahout said Tillerson’s statement was a bit “shameful” after the years of US insistence that Assad’s crimes had rendered him unfit to govern.

“The use of ‘longer term’ allows us to imagine that this issue is no longer on the immediate agenda,” he told AFP.

“And ‘decided by the Syria people’ suggests that there’s no longer any consideration of an international mechanism on this question,” he said.

Previously, the United States has stuck by a UN-backed peace plan that would see Assad “transition” from office while an interim regime is formed.

Now, Bahout suggested, Tillerson and Haley appear not to be ruling out a Russian idea that Assad should stand for re-election in 2020.

“What’s sure, in any case, is that the Russians must be pretty happy,” he said.

Tillerson is due in Moscow next month for talks with Russian leaders, and Trump has long argued the powers should work together against the IS group.

US-backed forces are closing in on the jihadist Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold of Raqa, laying the groundwork for an assault on the capital of their so-called “caliphate”.

Tillerson’s trip came the day after Turkey announced the end of “Euphrates Shield”, its own six-month-old military offensive in northern Syria.

Ties between the NATO allies were strained under Obama, particularly over US cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish militia fighting against IS.

Turkey wants to join any operation to capture Raqa, but without the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as terrorist.

“There’s no space between Turkey and the US and our commitment to defeat Daesh, to defeat ISIS,” Tillerson said, using the US government’s terms for IS.

“What we discussed today were options that are available to us… These are not easy decisions. There are difficult choices that have to be made,” he said.

However, Cavusoglu said Ankara was still concerned about the YPG, warning: “It is not good or realistic to work with a terror group while fighting another terror group.”

Numerous diplomatic efforts have failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in March 2011.

A fifth round of UN-sponsored peace talks is taking place in Geneva but no breakthrough has been reported and they are scheduled to end on Friday.</s>ANKARA - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was up to the war-ravaged country’s people.

Speaking after talks in Ankara, he added there was “no space” between Turkey and the US over fighting the so-called Islamic State group - even as his Turkish counterpart reiterated a key point of discord.

“I think the .. longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” Tillerson told a joint news conference with Mevut Cavusoglu in Ankara.

Under Barack Obama’s administration, the US made the departure of Assad a key policy aim, but new US President Donald Trump has put the accent firmly on defeating IS. Ties between Ankara and Washington were strained under Obama particularly over US cooperation with Syrian Kurdish militia fighting against the Islamic State group.

More than five million Syrians are now refugees, the UN said Thursday, as aid groups urged the international community to end the country’s six-year war and provide more assistance.

The new figures mean around a quarter of Syria’s population has fled since the March 2011 start of a conflict that has killed over 320,000 people.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR urged more international assistance, with spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly calling the figure an “important milestone”.

“As the number of men, women and children fleeing six years of war in Syria passes the five million mark, the international community needs to do more to help them,” UNHCR said in a statement.

NGOs helping Syrian refugees have regularly sounded the alarm about the crisis, appealing for more funds and international action to end Syria’s war.

“It’s clear that the international community has completely failed to end the conflict in Syria,” said Alun McDonald, regional spokesman for Save the Children.

“The situation inside the country is still not remotely safe for people to go home, we see more people being uprooted every day,” he told AFP.

He said much of the international community was also failing refugees, increasingly closing borders and turning them away.

Most Syrian refugees are hosted regionally, by neighbours Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, with more in Iraq and Egypt.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have also fled to Europe, often risking exploitation by smugglers and even death on arduous journeys by land and sea.

Smaller numbers have been resettled officially in Europe, Canada and the United States, though President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to temporarily halt all Syrian refugee entries.

The largest group is in Turkey, with over 2.9 million registered Syrian refugees, according to the UN.

Less than a tenth reside in camps, with most living in Turkish cities, including more than half a million in Istanbul alone.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an early backer of the Syrian uprising who repeatedly urged Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to step down, has even floated the possibility of granting some refugees citizenship.

In Jordan, some 657,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN, but the government says the true figure is 1.3 million.

Tens of thousands of Syrians live in two large camps, Zaatari and Azraq, but the majority live in homes and apartments, able to access the job market but competing for scarce employment.

The situation is more complicated in Lebanon, where the government refused the establishment of formal camps.

The UN says around one million Syrians are in the country, though the government says the figure is higher, with many living in dismal conditions in informal camps.

Lebanon has just four million citizens and was already struggling with limited resources, unemployment and overstretched infrastructure before the refugee influx.

In a joint statement with Syrian organisations, charity Oxfam on Thursday urged more support for host countries.

“Oxfam calls on rich countries to show their support for Syria’s neighbours that have welcomed these refugees and to resettle at least the most vulnerable 10 percent most of Syrian refugees by the end of 2017,” said Oxfam international executive director Winnie Byanyima.

“It’s a protracted crisis and the funding is not catching up with the needs,” added Oxfam spokeswoman Joelle Bassoul.

“With fewer resources we now have to help more people,” she told AFP.

Aid groups and the UN have also regularly warned about the long-term impact of the crisis, particularly on children.

“A million Syrian refugee children are out of school and missing out on education, and they are the ones who will have to contribute to rebuilding Syria for the next generation,” said McDonald.</s>In a stark contrast to statements from the Barack Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that the future of the Bashar al-Assad regime “will be decided by the Syrian people.”

Tillerson made the remarks at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in response to a reporter’s question about Assad.

“The previous administration said that Syrian President Assad must go,” the reporter asked. “Nikki Haley said yesterday that the fight in Syria cannot move forward without the issue of Assad being resolved. How do you see that issue being moved forward as you move more aggressively on Raqqa?”

After Tillerson explained that the U.S. faced “difficult choices” when it came to Syria, the reporter followed up.

“About President Assad, should he stay or should he go?” the reporter asked.

“I think the… longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” Tillerson said.

On Thursday, Reuters reported the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also signaled that the Trump administration will focus first on defeating the Islamic State in Syria.

“You pick and choose your battles and when we’re looking at this, it’s about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out,” Haley told reporters in New York City.

“Do we think he’s a hindrance? Yes. Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No,” she said. “What we are going to focus on is putting the pressure in there so that we can start to make a change in Syria.”

Just this week, Cavusoglu said Turkey’s purpose in Syria has always been to defeat ISIS.

“From the beginning, our target has been very clear,” Cavusoglu said. “We have been in Syria to defeat Daesh and to clear many cities in Manbij from Daesh and make those areas Daesh-free or terrorist-free zones.”

Turkey has repeatedly called for the removal of Assad and, in November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asserted that Turkish troops entered Syria to remove “the tyrant Assad who terrorizes with state terror,” but has softened his rhetoric in recent weeks as Turkey has worked with Russia to broker a peaceful end to the six-year-long civil war in Syria.

“The increasingly close cooperation on Syria between Russia and Turkey marks a sharp turnaround for the two nations, which have also coordinated their operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL also known as ISIS) armed group in Syria,” Aljazeera reported this month.

“Russia has an active military presence in Syria in support of Assad’s forces, while Turkey, which backs anti-Assad groups, launched a military operation in August to create a safe zone along its border inside Syria,” Aljazeera reported.
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he thinks the longer term status of president Bashar al-Assad is to be "decided by the Syrian people". This appears as a policy shift, since under president Barack Obama’s administration, the United States made the departure of Assad a key policy aim.