U.S. ‘unwavering’ on NATO
Security conference features much debate about which countries will work together
America’s commitment to NATO is “unwavering,” U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence said Saturday, reassuring allies about the direction the Trump administration might take but leaving open questions about where Washington saw its relationship with the European Union and other international organizations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for strengthening a range of multilateral bodies — the EU, NATO and the United Nations — and lauded the benefits of “a free, independent press.”
In his first foreign trip as vice-president, Pence sought immediately to address concerns raised by President Donald Trump’s earlier comments questioning whether NATO was “obsolete.”
Pence told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of diplomats and defence officials: “I bring you this assurance: The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our trans-Atlantic alliance.”
“Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success,” Pence said. “And ultimately, we walk into the future together.”
Merkel, speaking before Pence, told him and other leaders that “acting together strengthens everyone.”
Her address came amid concerns among allies about the Trump administration’s approach to international affairs and fears that the U.S. may have little interest in working in international forums.
“Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles?” Merkel asked. “Let’s make the world better together and then things will get better for every single one of us.”
Trump has praised Britain’s decision to leave the 28-nation EU. And a leading contender to be the next U.S. ambassador to the EU, Ted Malloch, has said Washington is “somewhat critical and suspicious” of the bloc and would prefer to work with countries bilaterally.
Pence did not mention the European Union in his speech, something picked up on by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who wrote on Twitter: “In Munich, Vice President Pence renews America’s commitment to the Atlantic alliance. But not a word on the EU.”
Pence did say, however, that the U.S. was on a path of “friendship with Europe and a strong North Atlantic alliance.”
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel also indicated skepticism about Pence’s pledges, saying he agreed Europe needed to work with the U.S. on the basis of common values. But in a barely veiled reference to Trump, he said “both countries must define their interests, and our foreign policies should not be driven by ideology.”
“Ideologies lead to hostile concepts that might not be able to be overcome,” said Gabriel, who is chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Merkel’s junior coalition partner.