The US Secretary of State’s address at the Munich Security Conference was a drastic contrast with that made by vice president JD Vance who, in 2025, launched a blistering attack on America’s European allies. Mr Rubio, instead, insisted the fate of the United States and Europe “will always be intertwined”, as he said that Donald Trump “demands seriousness and reciprocity from our friends here in Europe” because “we care deeply about your future and ours”. In his speech to the conference, Mr Rubio said: “We want Europe to be strong. Sir Keir Starmer will tell the summit that Europe must relinquish its overdependence on the United States in his speech on Saturday morning. Sir Keir is rubbing shoulders with about 50 world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where he has already met with Germany’s Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and joined the Ukraine meeting alongside its president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Source: The Times February 14, 2026 21:30 UTC