Rubio calls on the US and Europe to “rekindle an old friendship” in a speech to allies

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a message of reassurance in the Munich speech, allaying some fears that months of sharp US rhetoric and policy disputes have opened a lasting breach between Washington and its European allies.

Reminding his audience at the annual meeting Munich Security Conference Regarding America’s centuries-old roots in Europe, Rubio said that the United States will remain forever tied to this continent as it continues to reform international relations and institutions that have been a stronghold of the post-World War II world order.

“We don’t want to break up, but to renew old friendships and revive the greatest civilization in human history,” Rubio said.

Rubio gave a speech at the conference a year later Vice President JD Vance was surprised the same audience with a harsh critique of European values. It followed a series of statements and moves from the Trump administration targeting allies, including Trump’s temporary threat last month. set new values in several European countries in an effort to protect US control of Greenlanda subsidiary of NATO ally Denmark.

On Friday, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opened this year’s rally by calling on the US and Europe to “repair and renew trans-Atlantic trust together,” saying that even the US does not have enough power to go it alone in a world whose old order is gone. But he and other European officials have made it clear they will stand up to their principles, including their approach to free speech, climate change and free trade.

“European Child”

While striking a calmer and more assertive tone than was often heard last year, Rubio made it clear that the Trump administration is sticking to its guns on policy. He criticized the “climate cult” and the “unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies.”

Rubio argued that the “joy” of the West’s victory in the Cold War led to the “dangerous illusion that we had entered the ‘end of history,’ that all nations would now be free democracies, that bonds built solely through trade and commerce would now replace nationalism … and that we would now live in a world without borders where everyone becomes a citizen of the world.”

“We made these mistakes together and now together we owe it to our people to face those realities and move forward to rebuild,” said Rubio.

“That’s why we Americans can sometimes be so quick and hasty in our advice,” she said. “That’s why President Trump wants honesty and reconciliation from our friends here in Europe.”

Rubio said the end of the trans-Atlantic era “is not our goal or our desire,” adding that “our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”

He acknowledged that “we have bled and died together on the battlefields from Kapyong to Kandahar,” contradicting Trump’s disparaging remarks about NATO troops in Afghanistan that he let out a cry. “And I’m here today to make it clear that America is paving the way for a new century of prosperity. And that, again, we want to do that with you, our dearest friends and our oldest friends.”

U.S. officials aligned with Rubio said his message was very similar to Vance’s last year but was aimed at a better audience, who acknowledged that they had retracted many of Trump’s words over the past year.

The address drew a standing ovation. Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said afterwards that the words were widely seen as reassuring. “Mr. Secretary, I’m not sure you heard a sigh of relief in this hall,” he told Rubio.

In a short question-and-answer session, Rubio said efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine are ongoing, and talks are expected on Tuesday. “We don’t know if the Russians are determined to end the war; they say they are,” he said. “We will continue to check it.”

In China, Rubio said Washington has a “responsibility to engage” with Beijing, although “significant challenges” remain, and he stressed that any engagement should protect America’s national interests.

Since arriving in Munich, Rubio has met with top European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as officials from Denmark, Greenland, Poland, Croatia and Moldova. He also met with senior Syrian officials to discuss maintaining the ceasefire and protecting minority communities, according to the State Department.

A US official said Rubio did not attend a single rally in support of Ukraine because of conflict planning, although he is expected to meet briefly on Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After Munich, Rubio will travel to Bratislava and Budapest, where he is expected to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The Europeans confirmed but were not relieved

The president of the European Union’s executive commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said Rubio’s speech was “very convincing” but noted that “among the administrations, some have a strong voice on these topics.”

In his speech at the conference, he stressed that “Europe must be independent,” including on defense. He emphasized the “digital face” of Europe – their way of expressing hate speech on social media.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer he said “we should not get into a warm bath of comfort. He said the UK must rebuild closer ties with Europe to help the continent “stand on our own two feet” in its defence, and said there needed to be investment “that moves us from over-dependence to inter-dependence.”

Shortly after Rubio’s words, the United Kingdom said it would send a Carrier Strike Group, led by the largest warship in the Royal Navy and including fighter jets, across the North Atlantic and the Arctic. The shipment will travel to an American port, and American aircraft are expected to operate from the base of the warship, HMS Prince of Wales. Defense Secretary John Healey said the deployment “will help make Britain war-ready, increase our contribution to NATO, and strengthen our working with key partners, keeping the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”

Hanno Pevkur, the defense minister of EU and NATO member Estonia, said “it is a bold statement to say that America is ‘Europe’s child.’

“It was a nice, necessary speech here today, but that doesn’t mean we can rest on our pillows now,” he told the Associated Press. “So there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The conference pointed to tensions beyond those in the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Speaking after Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing felt “happy” that Trump respects President Xi Jinping and China, but he cautioned that some US comments are related to the rise of China.

“We see that some forces and some people are still trying their best to suppress and contain China, and they are still attacking and slandering China in any way,” Wang said.

He warned that “the law of the jungle and neutrality is stuck” and that some countries are “reviving a Cold War mentality.”