Munich Security Conference

Suspicion in the EU despite Rubio's charm offensive

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference struck a conciliatory tone and was met with a standing ovation. But behind the scenes, many Europeans perceive it as more of a charm offensive than a change in line from the Trump administration, writes Politico.

- It's certainly a different tone, it's less aggressive. But that doesn't mean Europeans can calm down and stop being vigilant, says Terry Reintke, a German member of the European Parliament.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, one of the European leaders with the best relationship with Donald Trump, also says that it's mainly a matter of a change in tone, not a change in substance. He says that Europe must understand that the relationship with the US has and will remain changed.

- Maga means anti-EU. It means anti-liberal world order. It means anti-climate work. It's the ideological current that guides US foreign policy, he says.

Kallas: Russia must be forced to make concessions in peace talks

The biggest threat from Russia right now is that it gains more in a peace negotiation in Ukraine than it has done on the battlefield. That is why Putin must be forced to make concessions, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas when she spoke at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.

Kallas demanded, among other things, that Russia's military must be limited and that Moscow must pay for damages and be held accountable for war crimes.

She also said that Russia is not a great power.

- After more than a decade of conflict and four years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia has barely advanced beyond its 2014 positions, and at what cost? 1.2 million deaths, Kallas said according to The Guardian.

She also said that the Russian economy is in ruins and that the country's inhabitants are fleeing.

American politicians try to reassure Europe: “Trump gone in three years”

In addition to the main US speaker, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a number of American politicians have been present at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference. The message from several of them has been that the alliance between the US and Europe must be maintained, reports the BBC.

One of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics, California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, met with the press on Saturday.

“Donald Trump is temporary. He will be gone in three years,” said Newsom, who himself is being touted as a possible candidate in the next presidential election.

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic senator from New Hampshire, said she was there to show that the US understands how important its European allies are. Her Republican colleague from North Carolina, Thom Tillis, agreed. He urged Europe not to get carried away by “the rhetoric of American politics.”