Open US- Europe rift at security talks

The United States and European powers voiced sharply differing views on issues from Mideast security to trade Saturday, laying bare a deep transAtlantic rift in the era of President Donald Trump.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders at a three- day international security conference voiced dismay at a range of Trump decisions deemed hostile to America’s NATO allies.

In one awkward moment Friday, US vice- president Mike Pence said he was bringing greetings from Trump, only to be met with stony silence from a room full of national leaders, ministers and generals. Ms Merkel said a looming new shot expected in a trade war — Washington readying to declare European car imports a “national security threat” — was “frightening”, speaking at the Munich Security Conference. Especially Trump’s announcement he would soon pull American troops out of Syria has left allies scratching their heads about how to prevent further chaos. French foreign minister Jean- Yves Le Drian — whose country contributes about 1,200 troops in the region — asked why the US would create a power vacuum that could benefit its declared enemy Iran, calling it a “mystery”.

A French government source criticised the Trump administration’s approach as “we’re leaving, you’re staying” and added: “They’re trying to manage the consequences of a hasty decision and making us carry the responsibility.”