WASHINGTON _ As President Donald Trump attempts to bolster Eastern European nations against Russian belligerence while meeting in Europe this week, he is getting added support from his top diplomat.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will accompany Trump on Friday and Saturday in Hamburg, Germany, for a summit of the Group of 20 developed countries, but then he will depart for Ukraine, for a show of solidarity in the nation where Russia has most overtly attempted to exert its influence.
His message there, a senior State Department official said Wednesday, would be to support Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014 and annexed the Crimean peninsula, provoking a string of international sanctions that are still in place.
Tillerson has not always embraced the idea of sanctions and has suggested alternatives to the so-called Minsk agreements, which call for Russia to end its occupation of Crimea.
The State Department official sought to dispel suspicion that the U.S. and Russia might cut their own deal over Ukraine.
"There certainly is no intent or desire to work exclusively with Russia," the official said in a briefing with reporters. "I mean, this is a multiparty issue."
He said that the nations charged with handling the Ukraine crisis under the so-called Normandy format _ Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine _ want a U.S. interlocutor to participate.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with State Department practice, said the Trump administration had not yet decided whether to grant Ukraine's request to purchase lethal weapons.
Selling arms to Ukraine to fight Russia had long had Republicans' backing, until Trump _ on advice from advisers now under investigation over possible ties to Russia _ had a proposal to that effect removed from the Republican Party platform at the 2016 convention that nominated him for president.
"We have neither ruled out providing such weapons to Ukraine nor have we taken any decision to do so," the official said.
Tillerson will go on Sunday to Ukraine's capital, Kiev. Then he will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, for a meeting of the World Petroleum Council and sessions with Turkish leaders. The U.S. currently has sharp disagreements with Turkey over Syria and other issues.
Oddly, given Tillerson's current job, he will receive a lifetime achievement award from the World Petroleum Council for his previous one _ a long career at ExxonMobil, where Tillerson worked for more than 40 years and rose to CEO before he resigned to become secretary of State.
State Department officials could not explain why Tillerson was receiving the award, nor would they address suggestions that it could represent a conflict of interest. Tillerson has said that, as secretary of State, he would recuse himself from all matters that might touch on the energy conglomerate.
The London-based World Petroleum Council is giving Tillerson its highest award for his "outstanding contribution to the oil and gas industry," according to the group's website.
