Russia is reportedly working to cut back its dependence on U.S. payment systems and the use of the American dollar as a settling currency, signaling the Kremlin is taking further retaliatory measures in response to new U.S. sanctions. 
 
 "We will, of course, intensify work related to import substitution, reduction of dependence on U.S. payment systems, on the dollar as a settling currency and so on. It is becoming a vital need," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday, according to a Reuters report that cited the RIA news agency. 
 
 The report comes after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonWeek ahead in defense: Senators pick up work on defense bill | Briefings on North Korea, Afghan troop surge Week ahead in cyber: Dems look to block State Department shakeup Trump ramps up Russia tension with consulate shutdown MORE and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had their first bilateral meeting following the Russia sanctions bill that President Trump signed into law last week. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 Trump reluctantly signed the bipartisan measure into law Wednesday. The legislation, which had a veto-proof majority in Congress, slaps new sanctions against Russia while also limiting the president's ability to lessen those sanctions. 
 
 The new U.S. financial penalties come in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine, where it is supporting armed separatists, and its meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 
 
 Russia called the measure a "fully fledged trade war" and issued its own retaliatory response: demanding the reduction of U.S. diplomatic personnel by 750 by Sept. 1 and planning to take over diplomatic property previously used by the U.S. 
 
 The news wire's report of Russia moving away from U.S. economic systems is a sign of further steps Russia is taking in response to the sanctions. 
 
 Trump also lashed out at lawmakers for endorsing the sanctions measure while blaming Congress for fostering a tense relationship with Moscow. 
 
 “By limiting the executive’s flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia and North Korea much closer together,” Trump said Wednesday. 
 
 “Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us [healthcare]!” he tweeted a day later. ||||| Why Has Rex Tillerson Belly-Flopped as Secretary of State? 
 
 I ask the question with regret. Before this year, Tillerson had a long and distinguished career as chief executive of one of the world’s most complex companies. At ExxonMobil, he led a global workforce of thousands, and was no stranger to tricky politics, earning praise for navigating his company’s position on climate change and helping to end the discriminatory, homophobic policies of the Boy Scouts of America. 
 
 Like Tillerson himself, I was surprised when President Donald Trump asked him to lead the State Department. He was not part of the Republican national security establishment or a major political figure, and aside from serving on a few think-tank boards, barely registered in the foreign-policy community. Nor, thankfully, was he a Trump zealot or Fox News regular like Rudy Giuliani or John Bolton. As I learned more about Tillerson’s private-sector record, I came to believe he had the tools for success at the State Department. In fact, from a management perspective, his experience surpassed that of most of his predecessors. 
 
 Although new to public policy, Tillerson was no stranger to global politics, having rubbed shoulders and brokered deals with many world leaders. Such respected mandarins as James Baker, Robert Gates, and Condoleezza Rice vouched for him. So I was ready to do more than just give Tillerson a chance — I actually expected good things. 
 
 After six months on the job, the secretary of state entered August enduring one of Washington’s hallowed rituals, the career deathwatch, as leaks about his frustrations grew and rumors spread that he might walk. A few months ago it seemed reasonable to bet that he would not survive much past the 2018 midterms, and be replaced by Nikki Haley, the current U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Now it would be surprising if he even made it that far. Things are so bad that when the State Department press spokeswoman recently said Tillerson would be taking a few days off, many immediately guessed he was on the brink of resigning. The chatter has even produced a new word in the Washington vernacular: “Rexit.” 
 
 Other secretaries of state have gotten off to rough starts — think Alexander Haig and Warren Christopher. But Tillerson’s beginning is by far the worst of the modern era. This week, he made his first visit to the State Department pressroom, explaining how busy he’s been and giving shout-outs to a lot of officials he’s working closely with. But one appearance can’t compensate for the fact that, as an analysis by the New York Times illustrated, this is the lowest-profile State Department in at least half a century. 
 
 Tillerson is easily the most invisible top diplomat since Christian Herter. But as a devastating report by Foreign Policy and many smart observers have pointed out, the institutional damage is far greater and more lasting. 
 
 How could someone with such an accomplished private-sector career have turned out to be such a disappointment? Consider four possible reasons. 
 
 First, there’s the excuse one hears most often from Tillerson’s defenders: This is a short-term hiccup and in fact he’s playing a long game. Tillerson’s slow start is therefore by design — he’s purposely taking it slow and steady, learning the issues, building his relationship with the president, solidifying his alliance with the “axis of adults,” and once he’s ready, things will turn around. 
 
 This spin worked for the first few months, but its shelf life has long expired. Tillerson’s most prominent validators have gone quiet — has anyone heard from Baker, Gates, or Rice lately? We used to read a lot about Tillerson and Trump dining together, and how Tillerson talked to Secretary of Defense James Mattis all the time. Now we hear more about Tillerson fighting with the White House over personnel, see him get out-hustled by the Pentagon, and witness the public spectacle of he and Trump differing on policy issues like the fight between Saudi Arabia and Qatar or the fate of the Iran nuclear deal. The president regularly brags about his generals, but never says very much about his Rex. 
 
 To be effective, the secretary of state must have a strong relationship with the president. So I don’t fault Tillerson for trying. The problem is he doesn’t have much to show for it, and a lot of what he’s done to appease the White House (such as alienating the career Foreign Service officers, who have made their suspicions of Trump widely known) has only compounded the problems in his department. 
 
 Now the knives are out for him, as some of the chatter about Tillerson’s ineffectiveness are coming not just from the State Department, but sources in the White House. He has very few admirers in Congress. And as for the big boss, Tillerson has yet to be on the receiving end of a disapproving Trump tweet, but the fate of Attorney General Jeff Sessions has to be foremost on his mind. No matter how much time one spends sucking up to this president, you are only a step away from being under the bus. 
 
 A second explanation is that since Tillerson genuinely believes the State Department needs to be better managed and reformed to be effective in the 21st century, he is taking the time to make that happen. That’s not entirely wrong. I don’t know anyone who believes the State Department is a bureaucratic Ferrari. Previous secretaries have undertaken major reform efforts that reshaped the organizational chart. Christopher had a “strategic management initiative,” Madeline Albright pursued a “war for talent,” Colin Powell oversaw a massive information technology upgrade, Rice launched “transformational diplomacy,” and Hillary Clinton instituted a “quadrennial diplomacy and development review,” which John Kerry continued. So Tillerson’s “redesign” follows in these footsteps. 
 
 But there are some big differences. All of these prior efforts were undertaken in the service of making the State Department stronger — to enhance America’s diplomatic power with greater resources and people. They were about investing in the institution. Tillerson, on the other hand, seems perfectly content with diminishing the department’s role. 
 
 Tillerson has some highly capable people around him — friends and former colleagues I greatly respect. But when it comes to building a State Department for the next generation, I am hard pressed to name a single thing Tillerson has said or done to attract the best talent. If anything, he’s driving people away by decapitating the Foreign Service and ending valuable entry-level programs like the Presidential Management Fellowship. He appears fine with all the senior level vacancies. He has told senators privately that he thinks that the State Department is way too big and has too much money — as evidenced by his shocking decision not to spend nearly $80 million allocated to the department to fight terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. 
 
 So despite all the earnest management consultant talk, few are really convinced Tillerson’s reform initiative is about making diplomacy more effective or actually driven by the “bottom-up.” The people running it are viewed with derision and suspicion, like the “Bobs” in Office Space. Instead of making the State Department stronger, under Tillerson it is becoming more like the foreign ministries in China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia — a bureaucracy with clerks but few policymakers, while the true power in government rests elsewhere, around the strongman leader and in the military and intelligence services. 
 
 Which leads to a third reason Tillerson is off to the worst start ever: because, management issues aside, he has embraced a policy framework that relegates the State Department to second-tier status, and America itself to being a back-row kid. Tillerson is the first secretary of state to preside over an “America First” policy. I don’t know if he really believes in it, or just parrots these lines to stay in Trump’s good graces. But unlike Mattis, he goes out if his way to defend the concept. It is telling that when the world wants reassurance that the U.S. will maintain its leadership and stand by its commitments, it looks to the Defense Secretary, not America’s top diplomat. 
 
 A fourth explanation for Tillerson’s flop is the simplest and most innocent: He never wanted the job, doesn’t really like it, and is just trying to stay afloat and counting the hours until he can make a graceful exit. No secretary of state has taken the job with as little enthusiasm. Tillerson has been very open about his doubts over leaving ExxonMobil and missing his old life. He recognizes the fact that the job of secretary of state is very different from that of a corporate CEO, and seems to feel out of place, like a major league outfielder being thrown into the game as a pitcher. 
 
 If he enjoys any part of his day right now, it isn’t evident. Instead, State Department officials complain that he spends his time cloistered in his office alone reading papers or huddled with a few aides, many foreign counterparts find him inaccessible, and interagency colleagues observe he is a grumpy presence in the Situation Room. 
 
 Watching Tillerson’s first six months, one wonders whether Trump picked him as a way to diminish the State Department, similar to how Richard Nixon chose William Rogers for the express purpose of ensuring that the department remained weak. As Henry Kissinger recalled of Rogers, “few secretaries of state can have been selected because of their president’s confidence in their ignorance of foreign policy.” 
 
 Trump is not that clever. Nor does he know history’s lessons well enough to follow them. But future secretaries of state and their staffs will study Tillerson’s opening months to learn what not to do — and have to spend a lot of time and valuable capital to fix what he’s breaking. 
 
 Photo credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images ||||| U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives at the Conrad hotel for his bilateral meeting with China on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives at the Conrad hotel for his bilateral meeting with China on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related... (Associated Press) 
 
 MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Trump administration has yet to decide how to respond to Russia's move to expel hundreds of American diplomats, but plans to deliver a response to Moscow by Sept. 1, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday. 
 
 A day after sitting down in the Philippines with Russia's top diplomat, Tillerson said he'd asked "clarifying questions" about the Kremlin's retaliation announced last month following new sanctions passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has struggled to determine how the move will affect the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia, as well as the broader implications for the troubled relationship between the nuclear-armed powers. 
 
 Despite the Russian move, which seemed to plunge the two countries even further into acrimony, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emerged from the meeting declaring a readiness for more engagement with the U.S. on North Korea, Syria and Ukraine, among other issues. Tillerson broadly echoed that sentiment, saying the two countries had critical national security issues to discuss despite deep disagreements on some matters. 
 
 "I don't think it is useful to just cut everything off on one single issue," Tillerson said following his first meeting with Lavrov since the new sanctions were imposed. "These are two very large countries and we should find places that we can work together, let's try to work together. Places we have our differences, we're going to have to continue to find a way to address those." 
 
 Tillerson also said that Russia has been showing "some willingness" to start talking about a resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, devoid of real progress for years. That assessment came as Lavrov announced that the Trump administration had committed to sending its new special envoy for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, to Moscow to discuss next steps. 
 
 Yet several obstacles hang over any attempt to pursue a more functional U.S.-Russia relationship: the new U.S. sanctions, Russia's retaliatory move to expel diplomats, and the ongoing U.S. Justice Department investigation into Russia's election meddling and potential Trump campaign collusion. 
 
 Fearing Trump might move inappropriately to ease sanctions on Russia, Congress last month passed new legislation that both added more sanctions and made it harder for the president to lift them. Trump and Tillerson opposed the legislation, but facing a likely veto override, Trump begrudgingly signed the bill. 
 
 Moscow's response to the sanctions was to announce it would force the U.S. to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755 people. That move stoked confusion in Washington, given that the U.S. is believed to have far fewer than 755 American employees in Russia. 
 
 Lavrov, describing his meeting with Tillerson, said Russia and the U.S. had agreed to resume a high-level diplomatic channel that Moscow had suspended after a previous U.S. move to tighten existing Russia sanctions. 
 
 "We felt that our American counterparts need to keep the dialogue open," Lavrov said. "There's no alternative to that." 
 
 Trump's administration has argued there's good reason for the U.S. to seek a more productive relationship. Tillerson has cited modest signs of progress in Syria, where the U.S. and Russia recently brokered a cease-fire in the war-torn country's southwest, as a sign there's fertile ground for cooperation. 
 
 The Syrian cease-fire reflected a return of U.S.-Russia cooperation to lower violence there. The U.S. had looked warily at a series of safe zones in Syria that Russia had negotiated along with Turkey and Iran — but not the U.S. 
 
 Lavrov cited upcoming talks involving Russia, Iran and Turkey about how to ensure the truce in the last safe zone to be established, around the north-western city of Idlib. He predicted "it will be difficult" to hammer out the details but that compromise can be reached if all parties — including the U.S. — use their influence in Syria to persuade armed groups there to comply. 
 
 Tillerson said Russian meddling in the election had "created serious mistrust between our two countries." Although he and other Cabinet officials have maintained that position consistently, Trump has repeatedly questioned U.S. intelligence about Moscow's involvement while denying any collusion with his campaign. 
 
 Word that Volker, the Ukraine envoy, plans to visit the Russian capital was the latest sign that Washington was giving fresh attention to resolving the Ukraine conflict. The U.S. cut military ties to Russia over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and accuses the Kremlin of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine by arming, supporting and even directing pro-Russian separatists there who are fighting the Kiev government. 
 
 In recent days, the Trump administration has been considering providing lethal weaponry to Ukraine to help defend itself against Russian aggression. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP ||||| Getty Images 
 
 With each passing day, the isolation of Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson seems to be growing, along with the number of people calling for him to leave his job. 
 
 On Sunday, Foreign Policy magazine tweeted, “We’re in the midst of Tillerson’s career deathwatch. ‘Rexit’ is coming.” Ouch. The tweet accompanied a story noting that even Tillerson’s initial supporters have turned against him, saying he probably won’t make it through the rest of the year as secretary of state. 
 
 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Others weren’t as nice, calling Tillerson possibly the worst secretary of state in the country’s history. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 News media coverage of Tillerson’s performance, while never entirely positive, has been noticeably pessimistic in the past few days. On Tuesday, The New York Times called Tillerson’s State Department the “lowest profile” State Department in nearly half a century. To arrive at this conclusion, the newspaper used State Department web archives to create a calendar of daily press briefings during five presidential administrations. 
 
 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 The results, laid out in a pretty straight–forward infographic, reveal an agency entirely in isolation and a micromanaging leader most likely in denial. 
 
 “They are objectively overturning a lot of the fundamental pillars of America’s bipartisan foreign policy,” R. Nicholas Burns, a spokesman for the Clinton administration and a diplomat for the George W. Bush administration, told the Times. 
 
 
 
 Then, on Sunday, the Times published another story revealing that Tillerson has failed to nominate anyone to most of the State Department’s 38 highest–ranking posts, “leaving many critical departments without direction, while working with a few personal aides reviewing many of the ways the department has operated for decades rather than developing a coherent foreign policy.” 
 
 
 
 Tillerson has insisted that the problems existed before he arrived and that fixing them would require a lot of time and effort. According to the Times, he has hired two consulting companies and formed five committees to problem–solve. 
 
 
 
 But it appears that time—and support—are running short for Tillerson. As Foreign Policy’s Derek Chollet noted: 
 
 ||||| “It’s largely not a highly disciplined organization,” he said in an interview last month while on a flight back from the Middle East, where he tried unsuccessfully to resolve a bitter feud between Qatar and four Arab nations. “Decision-making is fragmented, and sometimes people don’t want to take decisions. Coordination is difficult through the interagency — has been for every administration.” 
 
 Almost from the time of his arrival, Mr. Tillerson has said the department needed to be reorganized, and he has embarked on a wholesale rethinking of its structure. He has hired two consulting companies, undertaken a departmentwide survey and set up five committees to analyze different aspects of the department. 
 
 Mr. Tillerson has said the reorganization will be driven by suggestions from staff members, but before the survey process even began he proposed a 31 percent cut to the department’s budget and an 8 percent staff cut — suggesting to many that his mind was already made up. He must give Congress a hint of his plans by Sept. 15 but does not expect to have them fully formed until the end of the year. 
 
 Mr. Tillerson’s diplomatic accomplishments have been mixed at best. His biggest achievement came Saturday when the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on North Korea for its recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which required bringing along the Russians and the Chinese. But his effort to resolve the struggle between Saudi Arabia, along with other Sunni powers, and Qatar has made little progress; his department is considered dysfunctional by the Europeans; and policy is entrusted to a tiny group. 
 
 Moreover, his reorganization effort has contributed to the paralysis. He has not wanted to appoint under secretaries and assistant secretaries until he understands the new structure. But the career officials sitting in those posts have little authority, and they fear making a career-ending move. His hiring freeze has meant few young people — those with a better sense of how to reach the younger populations around the world — are entering the department. Senior diplomats have left in droves, depleting the building of historical memory. 
 
 Wendy R. Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs in the Obama administration, noted that the department’s deep bench of talent meant the United States had “more ideas and more capabilities” than any other diplomatic player in the world. 
 
 “It is more than concerning that we would stultify that capacity through deep budget cuts, centralization of decision making at State and leaving empty leadership positions,” she said. ||||| U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson, center, links arms with ASEAN foreign ministers as they take part in the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial meeting in the 50th Association of Southeast Asia Nations Regional Forum... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson, center, links arms with ASEAN foreign ministers as they take part in the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial meeting in the 50th Association of Southeast Asia Nations Regional Forum in suburban Pasay city, southeast of Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Aug.6, 2017. (Erik De Castro/Pool... (Associated Press) 
 
 MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met Monday with America's top diplomat, where he voiced solidarity with the U.S. amid global concerns over North Korea's nuclear program and angrily dismissed media questions about human rights abuses by his government. 
 
 Duterte and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met in Manila at a regional Asia gathering. It was the highest-level interaction to date between a member of President Donald Trump's administration and Duterte, accused by human rights groups of flagrant abuses in his bloody war against illegal drugs. 
 
 If the two leaders discussed those or other U.S. concerns about Duterte's government, they didn't do so in public. Instead, the two focused on the alliance between the two countries and on the North Korea issue as reporters were allowed in briefly for the start of their meeting. 
 
 Entering an ornate, wood-paneled hall in the Philippine leader's palace, Tillerson was introduced to members of Duterte's Cabinet, shaking hands with each. Duterte welcomed the American and said he said he knew the U.S. was concerned about Pyongyang's missile program. 
 
 "You come at a time when I think the world is not so good, especially in the Korean Peninsula," Duterte said. 
 
 Earlier, as they shook hands, the two ignored a shouted question about whether they'd discuss human rights. And at a news conference after their meeting, Duterte bristled but didn't answer directly when asked whether human rights had come up. 
 
 "Human rights, son of a bitch," Duterte said, arguing he shouldn't be questioned about alleged violations given the challenges he's facing. "Policemen and soldiers have died on me. The war now in Marawi, what caused it but drugs? So human rights, don't go there." 
 
 But ahead of the meeting, Duterte's presidential spokesman, Ernesto Bella, said the topic would indeed come up, along with other pressing matters such as global terrorism threats, economic cooperation and security in Marawi, the city that has been under siege by pro-Islamic State group militants for more than two months. 
 
 "We also welcome the opportunity to address concerns such as human rights if and when raised," Bella said in a statement. "We have always included this issue in our discussions and engagements with foreign governments, particularly Western democracies." 
 
 The U.S., too, said ahead of the meeting that human rights would be among the topics on the agenda. 
 
 Human rights groups have questioned the Trump administration's willingness to engage with Duterte. But Tillerson argued there's no contradiction presented by the U.S. decision to help his country fight the militants, whose insurgency in the Philippines has stoked global fears about the Islamic State group exporting violence into Southeast Asia and beyond. 
 
 Nearly 700 people have died in the intense fighting, including 528 militants and 122 soldiers and policemen, since hundreds of black flag waving gunmen stormed into buildings and homes in the business district and outlying communities of mosque-studded Marawi, a center of Islamic faith in the southern third of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. 
 
 "I see no conflict - no conflict at all in our helping them with that situation and our views of the human rights concerns we have with respect to how they carry out their counter narcotics activities," Tillerson told reporters before the meeting. He added that it appeared the Philippines was "beginning to get that situation under control." 
 
 To that end, Tillerson said the U.S. has been providing the Philippines with surveillance capabilities, training, information and aircraft to help it fight the militants. He said the equipment includes a few Cessna aircraft and a few drones. 
 
 "The real challenge is going to come with once they have the fighting brought to an end how to deal with the conditions on the ground to ensure it does not re-emerge." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report. 
 
 The United States has been providing the Philippines with surveillance capabilities, training, information and aircraft to help it fight a monthslong siege of a southern city by pro-Islamic State group militants, the top U.S. diplomat said Monday as he prepared to meet the country's polarizing president. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Manila for a regional gathering, said the equipment includes a few Cessna aircraft and a few drones. He said they'll help the Philippines battle "an enemy that fights in a way that most people have never had to deal with." 
 
 "We think they are beginning to get that situation under control," Tillerson told reporters. "But the real challenge is going to come with once they have the fighting brought to an end how to deal with the conditions on the ground to ensure it does not re-emerge." 
 
 Human rights groups have questioned President Donald Trump's willingness to engage with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been roundly criticized for a bloody war on illegal drugs that has killed thousands of suspects. But Tillerson argued there's no contradiction presented by the U.S. decision to help his country fight the militants, whose insurgency in the Philippines has stoked global fears about the Islamic State group exporting violence into Southeast Asia and beyond. 
 
 "I see no conflict — no conflict at all in our helping them with that situation and our views of the human rights concerns we have with respect to how they carry out their counter narcotics activities," Tillerson said. 
 
 Ahead of the meeting, the U.S. said Tillerson indeed would discuss with Duterte human rights along with all other relevant issues. Duterte's presidential spokesman, Ernesto Bella, said Monday that the topic would include discuss global terrorism threats, economic cooperation and security in Marawi, the city that has been under militant siege for more than two months. 
 
 "We also welcome the opportunity to address concerns such as human rights if and when raised," Bella said in a statement. "We have always included this issue in our discussions and engagements with foreign governments, particularly Western democracies." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report. ||||| Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that Washington will respond by Sept. 1 to Russia's move to force a major reduction in American diplomatic staff. Time 
 
 Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Manila on Aug. 6. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged Monday that the United States and Russia "have our differences" but said that Washington and Moscow should find ways of working together to ease tensions and that completely severing ties over Russia's suspected meddling in the U.S. presidential election would not serve any purpose. 
 
 "I don't think it is useful to just cut everything off on one single issue," Tillerson said in Manila following his first meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, since the U.S. imposed the economic sanctions on Russia for its alleged interference in last year's election. President Trump signed the bill into law last week. 
 
 More: President Trump signs new Russia sanctions, questions whether bill interferes with foreign policy authority 
 
 "These are two very large countries and we should find places that we can work together, let's try to work together. Places we have our differences, we're going to have to continue to find a way to address those," Tillerson said in the Philippines, where he met with Lavrov on Sunday on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit, a gathering for Southeast Asian nations to discuss economic, political and cultural issues. 
 
 "(I'm) trying to help them understand just how serious this incident had been and how seriously it had damaged the relationship between the U.S. and the American people and the Russian people — that this had created serious mistrust between our two countries," Tillerson said of his conversation with Lavrov about the alleged election meddling. Russia has consistently denied it intervened in the vote. 
 
 In retaliation for the sanctions that target Russia's energy and financial sectors, and also prevent Trump from rolling back sanctions imposed by President Obama's administration, Russia intends to expel hundreds of U.S. diplomats. Tillerson said Monday the U.S. is still considering how to respond, but would do so by Sept 1. 
 
 Russia said it would force the U.S. to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755 people. However, the U.S. is believed to have far fewer than 755 American employees in Russia, which has led to confusion. Russia also shuttered a recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow used by embassy staff. Tillerson said he asked Lavrov "several clarifying questions" about its retaliation to the sanctions. 
 
 Tillerson said that Lavrov displayed "some willingness" to re-start talks about the prolonged crisis in Ukraine, where a 3-year-old war over Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine is locked in stalemate. After the meeting, Lavrov announced that the Trump administration would be sending its new special representative for Ukraine negotiations to Moscow for talks. 
 
 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed a bill that imposes new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. But he doesn't seem happy about it. Video provided by Newsy Newslook 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2wAiNqk ||||| MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will speed up work on reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday. 
 
 FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with journalists following a live nationwide broadcast call-in in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo 
 
 It is a response to the new sanctions against Russia reluctantly signed into law last week by U.S. President Donald Trump. The sanctions targeted Russia’s energy sector, with new limits on U.S. investment in Russian companies. 
 
 “We will of course intensify work related to import substitution, reduction of dependence on U.S. payment systems, on the dollar as a settling currency and so on. It is becoming a vital need,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying. 
 
 “(Otherwise) we will always sit on their hook, exactly what they need,” he said, referring to the United States. 
 
 Russia has already introduced a new national payment system to cut reliance on Western systems, such as Visa and MasterCard. 
 
 Those operators stopped providing services to clients of one Russian bank after Washington imposed sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis, including its annexation of Crimea from Kiev and support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. 
 
 The Russian payment system is called Mir, which translates as “World” or “Peace”. 
 
 “Your card is free from external factors. Created in Russia,” runs an advertisement for Mir cards. 
 
 To date, more than 13.9 million Mir cards have been issued in Russia, according to the Russian National System of Payment Cards (NSPK), or about 10 percent of the country’s population. 
 
 NSPK was established in 2014 and is 100 percent owned by the central bank. 
 
 More than 380 banks working in Russia accept these cards which are issued by 120 banks. Practically all trade and service points, including cafes, shops, restaurants and petrol stations accept payments with Mir cards. 
 
 Furthermore, Mir cards are welcome in sanctions-hit Crimea where Western banks are prohibited to operate.
– Mark your calendars: The US will make up its mind by Sept. 1 on how to respond to Russia's expulsion of 755 diplomats, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday. The news followed a meeting between Tillerson and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines, during which Tillerson says he asked "clarifying questions" about Russia's move. The latest on the subject, and Tillerson in general: As for what Lavrov may have needed to clarify, the AP notes that Moscow's directive that the US cut 755 embassy and consulate staffers was confusing to some, as it's thought the US government doesn't employ that many people in the country. USA Today's take on the meeting highlights this quote from Tillerson: "I don't think it is useful to just cut everything off on one single issue [of election meddling]. These are two very large countries and we should find places that we can work together, let's try to work together." The US may be giving itself a few weeks to formulate a response, but the Hill sees "a sign of further steps Russia is taking in response to the sanctions." It cites a brief Reuters report that quotes Russia's deputy foreign minister as telling Russia media, "We will of course intensify work related to ... reduction of dependence on US payment systems, on the dollar as a settling currency and so on. It is becoming a vital need." Splinter rounds up what it sees as increasing cries for Tillerson to abandon his post, and points to this Foreign Policy tweet from Sunday: "We're in the midst of Tillerson's career deathwatch. 'Rexit' is coming." That tweet linked to one of Foreign Policy's own articles, published Friday, with this not exactly subtle title: "Why Has Rex Tillerson Belly-Flopped as Secretary of State?" Derek Chollet had high hopes for Tillerson out the gate, but finds that as far as "rough starts" go, "Tillerson's beginning is by far the worst of the modern era." Chollet looks at four possible reasons. Foreign Policy isn't alone in its coverage. The New York Times describes a State Department bogged down by micromanagement—including high-level staffers whipping out their red pens to make "extensive" edits on boilerplate texts—and glaring gaps, writing Tillerson "has failed to nominate anyone to most of the department's 38 highest-ranking jobs, leaving many critical departments without direction." But, for now, he's very much on the job. The AP reports Tillerson on Monday met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in the highest-level interaction thus far between a member of the Trump administration and the controversial leader.