MUNICH
—
US
Secretary
of
State
Marco
Rubio
attempted
to
defuse
tension
with
European
allies
today,
telling
them
that
despite
headlines
saying
otherwise,
it
is
not
Washington’s
“goal,
nor
our
wish,”
to
end
the
transatlantic
era.
During
a
hotly
anticipated
speech
here
at
the
Munich
Security
Conference,
Rubio
said
“the
fate
of
Europe
will
never
be
irrelevant
to
our
own
national
security,”
offering
reassurance
to
a
region
on
edge
over
the
Trump
administration’s
combative
approach
to
issues
including
Greenland,
Arctic
security
and
trade.
“For
us
Americans,
our
home
may
be
in
the
Western
Hemisphere,
but
we
will
always
be
a
child
of
Europe.”
Rubio
largely
leaned
on
a
much
more
sensitive
style
and
oratory
compared
to
Vice
President
JD
Vance’s
controversial
speech
a
year
ago
at
this
same
event.
But
Rubio
also
did
not
come
bearing
only
flowers.
America’s
chief
diplomat
took
aim
at
what
he
framed
postwar
“delusion”
in
the
West
and
a
mass
migration
“crisis”
in
Europe,
echoing
terms
found
in
the
National
Security
Strategy
released
last
year.
He
also
called
out
a
lack
of
industrialization
and
took
shots
at
the
United
Nations
for
offering
“no
answers”
to
crises
situations
around
the
globe,
such
as
the
Gaza
war.
“It
was
American
leadership
that
freed
captives
from
barbarians
and
brought
about
a
fragile
truce,”
in
the
Palestinian
territory,
he
said,
while
paying
tribute
to
Washington’s
push
to
secure
a
peace
deal
in
Ukraine,
tearing
down
Iran’s
nuclear
program
through
operation
Midnight
Hammer,
and
bringing
“narco-terrorist
dictator,”
former
Venezuelan
President
Nicolás
Maduro
to
justice.
On
Ukraine
more
broadly,
Rubio
noted
that
“issues
that
need
to
be
confronted
to
end
this
war
have
been
narrowed”
but
“work
remains
to
be
done”
to
resolve
them.
In
a
comment
likely
appreciated
in
the
room,
he
did
admit
that
“We
don’t
know
[if]
the
Russians
are
serious
about
ending
the
war.”
Rubio
also
thanked
Europe
for
taking
steps
to
increase
support
for
Ukraine,
outlining
that
“American
weaponry
is
being
sold
for
the
Ukrainian
war
effort”
under
NATO’s
Prioritised
Ukraine
Requirements
List
(PURL)
initiative,
financed
by
European
allies
and
Canada.
There
is
no
“buying
of
time”
on
a
peace
deal,
Rubio
explained,
arguing
that
beyond
direct
talks,
other
measures
including
Washington
imposing
additional
sanctions
on
Russian
oil
and
a
verbal
commitment
from
India
to
stop
buying
more
of
the
product
from
Moscow,
have
gone
ahead
in
“the
interim.”
However,
Rubio’s
comments
seem
at
least
somewhat
at
odds
with
President
Donald
Trump,
who
told
reporters
outside
the
White
House
on
Friday
that
Ukraine
President
Volodymr
Zelenskyy
has
“to
get
moving.
Russia
wants
to
make
a
deal,
and
Zelensky’s
gonna
have
to
get
moving
—
otherwise
he’s
going
to
miss
a
great
opportunity.”
Rubio
also
reportedly
drew
scorn
from
European
leaders
for
skipping
a
key
meeting
with
them
on
Ukraine
ahead
of
MSC
at
short
notice.
“We
want
Europe
to
be
strong,”
Rubio
added.
“We
care
deeply
about
your
future
and
ours,
and
if
at
times
we
disagree,
our
disagreements
come
from
our
profound
sense
of
concern
about
a
Europe
with
which
we
are
connected,
not
just
economically,
not
just
militarily,”
but
spiritually
and
culturally.
The
immediate
impact
on
an
audience
that
included
the
European
Union’s
Head
of
Foreign
Policy
Kaja
Kallas,
and
former
NATO
Secretary
General
Jens
Stoltenberg
was
clear,
as
Rubio
received
light
applause
and
a
standing
ovation.
Reacting
to
the
speech
on
X,
former
Lithuanian
Foreign
Minister
Gabrielius
Landsbergis
wrote
that
“Rubio
brought
a
lot
of
white
paint…to
cover
the
cracks
caused
by
the
great
rupture.”
He
also
lamented
a
failure
to
talk
about
“democracy
or
true
freedom
of
speech,”
concluding,
“This
was
not
a
departure
from
the
general
position
of
the
US
administration.
It
was
simply
delivered
in
more
polite
terms.
I
am
not
sure
the
white
paint
will
hold.”