Kerry Advised Trump to Consult State Department Before Making Foreign Calls

• 12.05.2016, 12:54
•  America,  World

Francois Lenoir / Reuters

Secretary of State John Kerry advised  President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team to consulted with the State Department prior to Trump's calls with foreign leaders, CNN reports.

"We have not been contacted before any of these conversations. We have not been requested to provide talking points," Kerry said at the Saban Forum in Washington.

"I do think there's a value, obviously, on having at least the recommendations, whether you choose to follow them or not is a different issue, but I think it's valuable to ask people who've worked the desk and have worked it for a long period of time their input on what's the current state, is there some particular issue at the moment. I think that's valuable and I would certainly recommend it, but obviously that hasn't happened in a few cases."

Kerry's note comes after Trump spoke with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen by phone. China views Taiwan as a renegade province and, accordingly, the US doesn't recognize Taiwan as a country.