AFRICA/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will cut short his first Africa tour and return to the U.S. a day earlier than planned, amid two major policy announcements by President Donald Trump —both with foreign- affairs implications.
‘Due to pressing demands in the U.S., Secretary Tillerson will return tonight (Monday) [3-12-18] after concluding meetings in Chad and Nigeria,’ Under Secretary Steve Goldstein said in an emailed statement.
In the past week President Trump approved the introduction of steel and aluminum import tariffs and announced he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The statement came after Mr. Tillerson had missed a day of activities in Nairobi Saturday due to illness, after not resting for two days following the tariff and North Korea announcements.
Mr. Tillerson arrived in Africa last Wednesday, starting his first ever tour here that was meant to mend fences with African states after President Trump’s crude remarks about the continent.”
-Matina Stevis-Gridneff, “Tillerson Cuts Short Africa Trip Amid ‘Pressing Demands’ in the U.S.,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 12, 2018 08:40am