We ‘belong together,’ Rubio tells Europe but warns allies should ‘defend themselves’

At the Munich Security Conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US and Europe “belong together,” striking a tone very different from the one US Vice President JD Vance delivered at last year’s summit.

 Rubio emphasized that the Trump administration sees the path forward as requiring a change in how the US and Europe collaborate, stating, “We want allies who can stand on their own so no adversary feels tempted to test our collective strength.”

 Over 50 members of Congress and other U.S. dignitaries are in Munich, including well-known Democrats aiming to share their foreign policy ideas and suggest a possible new direction for U.S. leadership.

US ⁠Secretary of State Marco Rubio ⁠said ​on Saturday Washington would strive to seek a peace deal in Ukraine, but ​was unsure ⁠if Moscow really wanted to end the fighting.

“We don’t know if the Russians are serious about ending the war. They say they are,” Rubio said during a question and answer session following his remarks at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. “What we can’t answer, but we are going to continue to test, is an outcome Ukraine can live with and Russia can accept. That’s been elusive to this point.”

US and Western intelligence agencies have consistently questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has any interest in stopping the conflict and assessed he maintains his maximalist goals even while engaging the US and Ukraine in negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also attended the conference on Friday, said he believes Putin does not want to end the war and questioned his willingness to make concessions. US President Donald Trump has consistently insisted that both Moscow and Kyiv must make concessions to reach a deal to end the fighting, and that a compromise must be reached again soon.

Asked about Trump’s push for Ukraine to make more concessions in order to reach a deal with Russia, Zelensky said Friday that the US president has pressured both sides to compromise – despite the fact that Putin started the war by invading his country – but questioned Russia’s intentions.