Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump disagree on how the ongoing investigations into Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion affect diplomatic relations.
"It has had no impact," Tillerson said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Elise Labott Friday. "I'll say that it's had none."
That contradicts President Donald Trump, who told The New York Times last month that the investigation "makes the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position."
Tillerson elaborated: "It never comes up in our conversations or in my bilats or my dialogues with world leaders elsewhere."
"The domestic issues around the Russia involvement in our elections are not part of our dialogue elsewhere," he said. I think the rest of the world recognizes it is a domestic issue, it's an important one."
WATCH:
Tillerson admits relations between the U.S. and Russia are strained but for other reasons:
"We have made it clear that the keystone is really Ukraine," Tillerson said, referring to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its ongoing support for militias in eastern Ukraine.
The Secretary of State says he does talk to Russia about its 2016 election interference. However, his response to CNN indicates he may not understand Putin's longstanding contempt for the West and determination to undermine democracies in order strengthen Russia's world standing:
"We talk about it and we have said to them look it's a problem." Asked if he thinks they will meddle again in November's midterm elections, the top US diplomat said there was no evidence of that yet.
"I hope they don't," he said. "But we do know that Russia has involved themselves in other elections," referring to voting in European countries.
When he talks to Russians, Tillerson said he tells them, "that I don't understand why you do this. I don't understand what you think you're getting for this, because it's not evident to me as to how's this benefiting you."
Instead, Tillerson argued, "it damages Russia because we're not making progress and they're not making progress with others."
Full Story: Tillerson contradicts Trump on diplomatic impact of Russia probe (CNN)