Munich Security Conference: NATO Secretary General Defends Trans-Atlantic Ties!
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on the podium during the 56th Munich Security Conference
Trans-Atlantic ties are taking center stage at day two of the Munich Security Conference. Mike Pompeo has rejected German criticism of the US retreat from the global stage and promised $1 billion for European energy.
The US has defended its leading role, after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg touted US-EU relations in his address at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
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“Any attempt to distance Europe from North America not only weakens the trans-Atlantic bond, but it also risks dividing Europe,” he said. “I don’t believe in Europe alone. I believe in Europe and America together.”
Stoltenberg stresses importance of transatlantic unity
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended against criticism that the US had retreated from the world stage.
“I’m happy to report that the death of the trans-Atlantic alliance is grossly exaggerated. The West is winning, and we’re winning together,” Pompeo said in a speech.
“We led 81 nations in the global fight to take out the ISIS caliphate,” he said. “Is this an America that rejects the international community?”
Pompeo was responding in part to comments from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who on Friday said the US rejected “even the idea of an international community” and was acting “at the expense of neighbours and partners.”
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