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Putin jokes that he regrets awarding Tillerson 'Order of Friendship'

By LOUIS NELSON

Russian President Vladimir Putin joked Thursday that he regretted awarding Secretary of State Rex Tillerson a Russian state honor, telling a crowd at an economic forum that Tillerson had “fallen in with the wrong company” since becoming America’s top diplomat.

Tillerson was awarded Russia’s “Order of Friendship” in 2013, when he was the CEO of ExxonMobil, for his contributions to the Russian energy sector. But Tillerson’s relationship with the Russian government has grown frostier since he became secretary of state, a result of an overall U.S.-Russia relationship that was on the decline before Tillerson’s tenure and has continued to worsen since his arrival.

“We awarded your compatriot Mr. Tillerson the Order of Friendship, but he seems to have fallen in with the wrong company and to be steering in the other direction,” Putin told a U.S. citizen at the forum in Vladivostock, Russia, according to a Reuters report. “I hope that the wind of cooperation, friendship and reciprocity will eventually put him on the right path.”

That Tillerson had been awarded Russia’s “Order of Friendship” became a point of concern for multiple prominent Republican senators during the secretary of state’s confirmation process, raising questions as to whether he would ultimately be given Senate approval. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote on Twitter that “being a ‘friend of Vladimir’ is not an attribute I am hoping for" from a secretary of state, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters that “when he gets the friendship award from a butcher, frankly, it’s an issue that I think needs to be examined.”