![\"Pence-tells-Europe1\"](\"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Pence-tells-Europe1-300x169.jpg\")
AFP, MUNICH: US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday pledged an \u201cunwavering\u201d commitment to transatlantic ties, aiming to reassure allies including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pleaded with nations not to go it alone.Capping a week of whirlwind diplomacy by American officials who have descended on Europe to calm nerves rattled by President Donald Trump, Pence underlined the United States\u2019 loyalty to its old friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States is and will always be your greatest ally. Be assured that President Trump and our people are truly devoted to our transatlantic union,\u201d he told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.<\/p>\n
But he also reiterated a call for Europe\u2019s NATO allies to step up defence spending to reach the two percent of gross domestic product target agreed by the alliance.\u201cThe promise to share the burden of our defence has gone unfulfilled for too many for too long, and it erodes the very foundation of our alliance,\u201d he warned, adding that \u201cthe time has come to do more\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he did not go further and threaten, as Trump had done, to walk away from the alliance if fellow members failed to meet the target.<\/p>\n
The US, he said, will boost defence spending significantly \u201cto defend our nation and our treaty allies from the known threats of today and the unknown threats of tomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will meet our obligations to our people to provide for the common defence, and we\u2019ll continue to do our part to support our allies in Europe and in NATO,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s criticism of NATO as \u201cobsolete\u201d, his praise for Britain\u2019s decision to leave the European Union, and his softer approach towards Russia have unnerved Washington\u2019s allies.<\/p>\n
But over the past week in Europe, his envoys have pressed the message that the United States is not retreating into isolation and remains committed to its global role.<\/p>\n
They have also held to a hard line on maintaining sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n
At NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Defence Secretary James Mattis said Russia must first \u201cprove itself\u201d and respect international law before there could be any improvement in relations strained by Moscow\u2019s Ukraine intervention and annexation of Crimea.<\/p>\n
Mattis said the transatlantic bond was \u201cas strong as I\u2019ve ever seen it\u201d, and emphasised that America remained \u201crock solid\u201d in its support of Article 5 — NATO\u2019s core \u201cone for all, all for one\u201d collective defence tenet.<\/p>\n
Likewise, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also indicated he would take a tough line in his dealings with Russia.<\/p>\n
Following his first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Bonn on Thursday, Tillerson said the US would cooperate with Moscow but only when doing so \u201cwill benefit the American people\u201d.<\/p>\n
Explaining the apparent policy back-and-forth, Republican US Senator John McCain said Trump sometimes \u201ccontradicts himself, so some of us have learnt to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake no mistake, these are dangerous times, but you should not count America out,\u201d he said in Munich on Friday.<\/p>\n
While noting Pence\u2019s affirmation of US commitment to the transatlantic partnership, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault noted on Twitter that there was \u201cnot a word on the EU\u201d.
\nExasperated and worried by Trump\u2019s calling into question long-standing foreign policy assumptions, Europe\u2019s top politicians have warned Washington not to take transatlantic ties for granted.<\/p>\n
They work both ways, they said, and benefit the United States as much as Europe.
\nMerkel on Saturday urged countries not to retreat from the international cooperation which she says is the only way to solve global problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a year in which we see unimaginable challenges we can either work together or retreat to our individual roles. I hope that we will find a common position,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFP, MUNICH: US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday pledged an \u201cunwavering\u201d commitment to transatlantic ties, aiming to reassure allies including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pleaded with nations not to go it alone.Capping a week of whirlwind diplomacy by American officials who have descended on Europe to calm nerves rattled by President Donald Trump, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n