The Kremlin has praised the professionalism of Rex Tillerson, thought to be Donald Trump’s leading contender for secretary of state, the ExxonMobil CEO who has forged close ties to Russia.



“On account of his work as the head of one of the largest oil companies, he had contacts with our representatives more than once,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday. “He fulfills his responsibilities in a highly professional manner.”

Peskov also said “there’s a big difference being secretary of state and directing even a very big company” and that the Kremlin hoped for a “readiness to demonstrate a constructive attitude and display professionalism” from Washington.

Putin had hosted Tillerson on several occasions, Peskov added. The Russian president honoured the oil executive with an order of friendship award in 2013.

Although US president-elect Donald Trump has not yet nominated Tillerson, several news outlets have reported he is likely to do so in the next few days.

Sergei Markov, a consultant to Putin’s staff, said that Tillerson’s likely appointment, combined with jobs offered to Michael Flynn, the president-elect’s national security adviser, and Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, retired General James Mattis, added up to “a fantastic team.”

“These are people that Russia can do business with,” he told Bloomberg.

Carter Page, an American energy consultant with ties to the president-elect who has criticised US sanctions against Russia, also lauded Tillerson on Monday during a trip to Russia. Trump named Page as one of his foreign policy advis ers in March, but his campaign subsequently denied any connection to the consultant after reports that US intelligence was probing Page’s ties to Russia.

“The US and Russia still have 99 problems to address at home and around the world. But this marks the start of a new era where they can now work on them together, instead of remaining consistently obstructed by a long history of toxic personal relationships,” Page said of the expected Tillerson pick, news agency Sputnik reported.

Russian officials have greeted the possible appointment warmly. Senator Alexei Pushkov, a leading voice in foreign affairs, said the choice of Tillerson “confirms the seriousness of Trump’s intentions” to improve relations with Moscow. “Judging by his appointments to key positions in his administration, Trump wants to see America decisive and strong, but doesn’t see any reason for a conflict with Russia,” Pushkov tweeted after the news broke.

Tillerson is known to have grown close to Putin and Rosneft head Igor Sechin while working on oil exploration in Russia, which was frozen when the US imposed sanctions in 2014. The three were filmed raising a champagne toast to an agreement between Rosneft and ExxonMobil. Putin also commended the “increasingly close relations” between Tillerson’s company and Russia.

Sechin once said that before sanctions he and Tillerson had been planning a motorcycle road trip in the US.