However, “whether we can improve it or not remains to be seen,” he added.
Although Tillerson said he is “committed” to improving relations — which have been especially tense since 2012 thanks to differences over Syria and, later, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — he expressed deep skepticism about the prospects for doing so.
He ruled out relaunching relations with a “clean slate,” similar to the attempt at a “reset” by former president Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in 2009.
“We’re starting with the slate we have,” he said, “all the problems that are on that slate. We don’t dismiss any of them.”
President Donald Trump, who has expressed admiration for Putin, has repeatedly said that Washington should try to improve its relations with Moscow to tackle terrorism and other pressing problems around the world.
“I think terms like having a reset are overused,” Tillerson said. “You cannot reset. You cannot erase the past.”
Asked about US intelligence reports that Russia meddled in last year’s US presidential election campaign, Tillerson said, “I don’t think there’s any question that the Russians were playing around in our electoral processes.”
However, “it’s inconclusive as to what, if any, effect it had,” he added.
Still, “we have to look at this relationship in its broadest contours,” Tillerson said. “There are many, many important areas which require our attention if we are to bring it back to a relationship that we believe is necessary for the security of the US.”