US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure a nervous Europe on Saturday, saying that Washington wanted to "revitalise" the transatlantic alliance so that a strong Europe could help the US on its mission of global "renewal".
Speaking at a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by US President Donald Trump's vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about Washington's allies, Washington's top diplomat struck a markedly soothing tone.
"We do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history," Rubio said. "What we want is a reinvigorated alliance."
"We want Europe to be strong," Rubio said, adding that the continent and the US "belong together."
The United States will be "driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilisation's past," he said.
"It is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe," he said.
He echoed Trump administration's oft-stated assertion that immigration was a threat, saying that "mass migration" was "a crisis which is transforming and destabilising societies all across the West."
"We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilisation and together with us are willing and able to defend it."
"Acting together in this way, we will not just help recover a sane foreign policy... It will restore to us a clear sense of ourselves. It will restore a place in the world, and in so doing, it will rebuke and deter the forces of civilisational erasure that today menace both America and Europe alike."
- Change in tone -
Rubio's speech marked a sharp contrast to that of US Vice President JD Vance a year ago, when he used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies.
Aside from immigration, Rubio otherwise largely avoided the MAGA flashpoint and culture war issues that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, had deepened a "rift" between US and Europe.
US-Europe ties were further strained by the new US National Security Strategy, which launched an unprecedented attack against Europeans, charging that the continent was threatened with "civilisational decline".
Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark, forcing European nations to stand firm in protest.
- Europe security --
European leaders at the Munich Security Conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared NATO defences, saying this was essential for Europe to counter a hostile Russia.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told the gather on Saturday that "Europe needs to step up and has to take on its responsibility" for its security and called for closer ties with Britain, saying "10 years on from Brexit our futures are as bound as ever."
British leader Keir Starmer said "We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age."
"We must be able to deter aggression and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight," he said calling for a building of "a shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defence production".
On Friday NATO chief Mark Rutte said that "a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever" and French President Emmanuel Macron said that "this is the right time for a strong Europe," that would be "building its own architecture of security".
- Ukraine war -
The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defence and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth gruelling year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been in Munich since Friday and meeting multiple allies, was expected to address the meeting on Saturday. No Russian officials have been invited.
At the White House on Friday, Trump urged him to "get moving" to end the war. "Russia wants to make a deal... He has to move," the US leader said.
But Rubio said that "We don't know if the Russians are serious about ending the war."
Macron said a new framework was needed to deal with "an aggressive Russia" once the fighting in Ukraine ends.
And Merz said that "If it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk," but charged that "Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously".
Rubio was on Sunday due to travel to Slovakia and Hungary, European countries run by nationalist leaders endorsed by Trump.
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