Trump pick Tillerson: US 'failures' emboldened Russia

The lack of American leadership has emboldened Russia, President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson is due to say.

The comments come in Mr Tillerson's opening statement released ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing.

The former CEO of Exxon Mobil warns that "Russia today poses a danger", but urges an "open and frank dialogue".

His reported good ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin have alarmed both Democrats and some Republicans.

Live updates from the hearing

In the statement, Mr Tillerson, 64, also says:

• Old ideas and international norms which were well-understood and governed behaviours in the past may no longer be effective in our time
• China has emerged as an economic power in global trade, and bilateral interactions have at times been adversarial
• Defeating so-called Islamic State must be the most urgent step in thwarting radical Islam
• Iran and North Korea pose grave threats to the world because of their refusal to conform to international norms
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America's 'weak signals'

Mr Tillerson is expected to face some tough questions from members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later on Wednesday.

This is particularly in the light of the latest US media reports that Russian intelligence agencies have obtained personally compromising information about the president-elect.

Mr Trump - who has repeatedly stated he will seek better relations with Moscow - has decried the claims as a "political witch hunt", while Russia has called the allegations "pulp fiction" and a "clear attempt to damage relations"

In his prepared statement, the Texan multimillionaire is expected to warn that Americans should be "clear-eyed about our relationship with Russia".

"Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests. It has invaded Ukraine, including the taking of Crimea, and supported Syrian forces that brutally violate the laws of war.

"Our Nato allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia," the statement goes on, adding: "But it was in the absence of American leadership that this door was left open and unintended signals were sent.

"We backtracked on commitments we made to allies. We sent weak or mixed signals with 'red lines' that turned into green lights. We did not recognise that Russia does not think like we do."

But Mr Tillerson - who could become America's next top diplomat - also stresses that "we need an open and frank dialogue with Russia regarding its ambitions, so that we know how to chart our own course".

It is Mr Tillerson's connections to Russia that have drawn most flak in recent months.

He has forged multi-billion-dollar deals with Russia's state oil company, Rosneft, spoken out against international sanctions imposed on Moscow and in 2013 was awarded an Order of Friendship by the Kremlin.

One of Mr Trump's rivals for the Republican nomination, Marco Rubio, has said being "a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I am hoping for from" the next secretary of state.

Another Republican Senator John McCain has expressed concern over Mr Tillerson's links to Mr Putin, but promised he would get a "fair hearing" in the Senate.