Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented the United States as the “son of Europe” in a message of unity on Saturday, offering some reassurance as well as directing more criticism at allies after a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations.
Rubio spoke at the annual Munich Security Conference, where major European powers sought to project their own independence and strength while striving to keep the alliance with the U.S. alive under President Donald Trump.
The speech conveyed a degree of reassurance to European countries that fear being abandoned on issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to disruptions to international trade in a rapidly changing global order.
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But he was silent on concrete commitments and made no mention of Russia, raising questions about whether Rubio’s more conciliatory tone compared to Vice President JD Vance at the same event a year ago would change the underlying dynamic.
“At a time when headlines herald the end of the transatlantic era, let it be clear to everyone that this is neither our goal nor our desire, because for us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be children of Europe,” Rubio said.
“The United States and Europe belong together,” he said in a speech that received a standing ovation at the end.
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MIXED REACTIONS TO RUBIO’S SPEECH
While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “very reassured” by the speech and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called him a “true partner”, others struck a more cautious tone.
“I’m not sure Europeans see the heralded civilizational decline, supposedly caused mainly by migration and deindustrialization, as a core interest that unites them. For most Europeans, the common interest is security,” said Gabrielius Landsbergis, former foreign minister of NATO member Lithuania.
“This was not a departure from the (Trump) administration’s general position. It was simply said in more polite terms,” he said on X.
One particular area of concern is Ukraine, where allies have long worried that Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin could try to impose a deal on Moscow’s terms and force Kiev to cede territory to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
U.S.-brokered peace talks will resume next week in Geneva after a sustained bombing of Ukrainian cities during one of the coldest winters in recent years killed civilians and left hundreds of thousands of people without power and water.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope at the conference on Saturday, but expressed concern that Ukraine was being asked “too often” to make concessions in negotiations.
“We sincerely hope that next week’s trilateral meetings will be serious, substantive and useful for all of us, but honestly, sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things,” Zelenskiy said in a speech.
The Ukrainian leader said he was feeling “a little bit” of pressure from Trump, who had said Zelenskiy should not miss the “opportunity” to make peace soon.
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“Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and often these concessions are only discussed in the context of Ukraine, not Russia,” Zelenskiy said.
Asked about Russia after his speech, Rubio said the United States would not abandon its commitment to work on a peace agreement, but that it was unclear whether Moscow was truly committed to achieving that goal.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, who led efforts to keep Trump on their side, said the US was on board with peace talks, adding that Russia was suffering “absurd losses” of around 65,000 troops in total over the past two months. Reuters has not independently verified these figures.
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The Munich conference, which brings together top security leaders, has been dominated this year by how countries are struggling to adjust to a year of clashes with Trump on issues ranging from tariffs to his threat to take Greenland away from fellow NATO member Denmark.
Speaking shortly after Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned against “impulsive” calls for the United States to distance itself from China and said that despite some recent positive signals from the White House, some American voices were damaging the relationship.
Vance’s speech last year rebuked European allies, arguing that the greatest danger to Europe came from censorship and democratic backsliding, not from external threats like Russia.
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While praising Europe’s cultural achievements, from artist Michelangelo to poet William Shakespeare, Rubio also addressed controversial topics, including criticism of mass migration and zealous action against climate change.
“We don’t want our allies to be weak, because that makes us weaker,” he said.
“For we in America have no interest in being polite and orderly guardians of the controlled decline of the West, we seek not to separate but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in the history of mankind.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he understood why Rubio’s call for a common legacy had received applause.
“Is this going to change our strategy? Of course not. Because, you know, what we’re hearing today, we’ve heard in the past,” he said.
