'Tillerson's nomination raises concerns over conflict of

US President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State has raised concerns over his potential conflict of interests, given that billions of dollars in deals for the oil giant can go forward only if the US lifts sanctions against Russia.
A report in the New York Times said Tillerson has earned a friendship award from Russia and voiced skepticism about American sanctions that have stopped some of Exxon Mobil's biggest projects in the country.
Tillerson's stake in Russia's energy industry could create a "very blurry line" between his interests as an oilman and his role as America's leading diplomat.

"The chances that he will view Russia with Exxon Mobil DNA are close to 100 per cent," Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, a public interest group based in Washington, said in the report.
Tillerson has praised Russia for its vast potential as an oil supplier since the breakup of the Soviet Union, developing close ties to the Kremlin leadership along the way, it said.
"Exxon Mobil has various projects afoot in Russia that are allowed under American sanctions. But others have been ground to a halt by the sanctions, including a deal with the Russian state oil company to explore and pump in Siberia that could be worth tens of billions of dollars," it added.

Tillerson's appointment is raging a debate over mixing of business and politics and whether that could tip the scales in Russia's favour on major policy decisions like the sanctions.

"As secretary of state, he would be called upon to negotiate with world leaders like Vladimir Putin," said Michael T Klare, a professor at Hampshire College. "In these negotiations, one has to wonder what would influence the types of deals he is making. Questions arise over whether his actions would be benefiting his company or the interests of the United States and its allies," he said.
Tillerson has been critical of the American sanctions against Russia that were put in place following Moscow's intervention in eastern Ukraine. In early 2015, Tillerson had said that his company looked forward to the sanctions' being lifted.

"We'll await a time in which the sanctions environment changes or the sanctions requirements change," he said of blocked Exxon Mobil projects.