Rubio sweet-talks Europe in Munich, sharply contrasting with Vance’s attacks last year
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a conciliatory tone with European leaders at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14.
Rubio’s style and wording stood in sharp contrast to U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s confrontational and accusatory speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference. Vance's address turned into a searing attack on Europe's ideals and a call to embrace far-right parties.
Rubio emphasized the U.S. admiration for Europe and referred to shared history.
"In a time of headlines heralding the end of the Transatlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe," he said.
While the delegates welcomed the speech "with relief," many highlighted that Rubio was not proposing an equal partnership but rather an alliance mainly shaped by the U.S. President Donald Trump's perspective, said Patrick Wintour, the diplomatic editor at the Guardian.
Regarding the ending of the war in Ukraine, Rubio said that despite some progress in peace talks, there are still the "hardest questions to answer." He referred to Russia's demand that Ukraine withdraw from parts of the Donbas and Moscow's claims over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
"They say they are (interested in talks), and under what terms they were willing to do it, and whether we can find terms that are acceptable to Ukraine upon that Russia will always agree to, but we're going to continue to test it," Rubio said.
On Feb. 13, Rubio skipped a Berlin Format meeting on Ukraine held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Rubio was expected to join leaders from a dozen European countries — including Germany, Poland, and Finland — along with officials from the European Commission and NATO. However, the Financial Times reported that he canceled at the last minute, citing scheduling conflicts.
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