Pence says U.S. to stand with NATO

VP tries to reassure allies that Trump values NATO, will check power of Russia

MUNICH— U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence sought Saturday to calm jittery partners by declaring that the United States, under President Donald Trump, would “hold Russia accountable” and maintain steadfast support for NATO, the post-Second World War military alliance Trump once dismissed as “obsolete.”

In his overseas debut as vice-president, Pence told foreign diplomats and security officials attending the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. would be “unwavering” in its commitment to the transatlantic alliance and Trump would “stand with Europe.”

He pointed to their shared “noble ideals — freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law.”

Addressing violence in Ukraine, Pence said the U.S. would demand that Russia honour a 2015 peace deal agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists. He did not mention findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in last year’s presidential election to help Trump win the White House.

“Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which as you know President Trump believes can be found,” Pence said.

Pence’s address and a series of oneon-one meetings with world leaders along the sidelines here sought to calm nervous European allies who remain concerned about Russian aggression, including its annexation of Crimea. Many have been alarmed by Trump’s positive statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pence’s speech aimed to reassure in- ternational partners who worry that Trump may pursue isolationist tendencies.

After his speech, Pence met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called for the maintenance of international alliances and told the audience, with Pence seated nearby, that NATO is “in the American interest.”

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, told the conference after Pence’s speech that Moscow wanted “pragmatic relations” with the U.S. He said he hoped that “responsible leaders” would choose to create a “just world order,” adding “if you want, you can call it a post-West world order.”

European countries along Russia’s border are rattled by the prospect of deeper U.S.-Russia ties after Trump suggested that — contrary to the opinions of Merkel and other world leaders — sanctions imposed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea could be eased in exchange for a nuclear weapons deal.

The president referred to NATO as “obsolete” in an interview before his inauguration, but has since tempered his language and has stressed the importance of the alliance.

In his remarks, Pence also reinforced the Trump administration’s message that NATO members must spend more on defence. NATO’s 28-member countries committed in 2014 to spending 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence within a decade. But only the U.S. and four other members of the post-Second World War military coalition are meeting the standard, Pence said.

Failure to meet the commitment, he said, “erodes the very foundation of our alliance.”

“Let me be clear on this point: the president of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfil this commitment and, for most, that means the time has come to do more,” Pence said.