I asked my staff to set up calls on the ambassadors of Russia, China and Iran. These countries are some of our most difficult international partners. But they have important interests, and play significant roles in the region. As NATO’s forces withdrew, the leadership of each of these countries was having to reassess and recalibrate their approach. I wanted to get under the skin of how their thinking was developing. …
We also needed to watch for any sign that these countries might take actions that damaged our interests. Diplomacy is not only about talking with people who like you or agree with you. More often it is either about finding ways forward with people who neither like you nor agree with you – or about finding ways to block them from causing you harm.