Crude Summit: Tillerson embraces foreign allies

Former US secretary of state Rex Tillerson urged President Donald Trump to reinforce the value of US foreign allies when he delivers his State of the Union address to Congress later today.

"I hope the president will say something to reinforce our commitment to these friends and allies that have sacrificed so much alongside of us … over the past century," Tillerson said in a wide-ranging keynote address to the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston, Texas.

Tillerson served as Trump's secretary of state from February 2017 through March 2018, and previously as chief executive of ExxonMobil. Tillerson's 13 months in office were punctuated by public disputes with Trump and the shrinkage of the State Department's foreign and energy policy portfolios. Trump fired Tillerson via his Twitter account, naming CIA director Mike Pompeo to replace him.

Tillerson largely steered clear of discussing Trump directly in his remarks. Tillerson said he had developed an internationalist perspective during his time at ExxonMobil, which was not shared by many White House officials.

"I have never had a view of isolationism at all," Tillerson said. "Clearly there were people in the White House and the president himself that had a view that was probably not … as broad as mine."

Tillerson said that while Russia and China have "no allies", the US has many. "I hope the president will say something to reassure them" in his address to Congress, he said.

By Chris Baltimore and Jack Kaskey