The U.S. vice president has told the Munich Security Conference “History will attest that when the United States and Europe are peaceful and prosperous, we advance the peace and prosperity of the entire world.”
Mike Pence said Saturday, “Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance. The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance.
“The fates of the United States and Europe are intertwined,” the vice president said. “So strong is our bond that over the past century, Americans have poured forth from our land to help defend yours.”
Pence said NATO “must be as dominant in the digital world as we are in the physical world” to fight groups like Islamic State, which he said is “perhaps the greatest evil of all” and has “shown a savagery not seen since the Middle Ages.
“And with regard to the Ukraine,” the vice president said, “we must hold Russia accountable and demand that they honor the Minsk Agreements, beginning by de-escalating the violence in eastern Ukraine.”
He said 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 sought to reassure the alliance that the U.S. supports NATO following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticism of NATO during a time of global uncertainty. European governments have been rattled by Trump’s remarks.
Pence told the NATO members, however, that Trump expects alliance members to keep their financial commitments to NATO. “The promise to share the burden of our defense has gone unfulfilled for too many for too long and it erodes the very foundation of our alliance,” he said. “When even one ally fails to do their part, it undermines all of our ability to come to each other’s aid.”
Meeting financial obligations
Pence noted all 28 members of the alliance pledged in 2014 at the Wales Summit “to move towards a minimum security commitment of two percent of their gross domestic product on defense with the decade.” He said only the U.S. and four other nations have met their financial responsibilities to the bloc.
“The United States has been faithful to Europe for generations, and we will keep the faith that drove our forefathers to sacrifice so much in defense of our shared heritage,” the vice president said in ending his speech. “We share a past and after all we’ve been through, we share a future. Today, tomorrow, and every day hence – be confident, that the United States is now and will always be your greatest ally.”
Pence is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, several Eastern European leaders, as well as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi while in Munich.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and United States Vice President Mike Pence arrive at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Feb. 18, 2017.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also addressed the conference Saturday.
On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told the Munich gathering that American security is tied to that of Europe, describing NATO’s principle of collective defense as a “bedrock commitment.”
President Trump last month labeled NATO as obsolete. But Mattis said the president has now thrown his full weight behind the alliance – although he repeated the demand that Europe must share more of the financial burden.
More U.S. troops and military hardware arrived in Latvia and Romania this past week, part of the biggest NATO reinforcement since the end of the Cold War.
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