Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European leaders in Munich that Washington wants to strengthen, not weaken, its historic partnership with Europe, while sharply criticizing the United Nations for playing “virtually no role” in resolving major global conflicts, including the war in Gaza.
Addressing the annual security gathering in Munich, Rubio aimed to calm strained relations between the United States and Europe that have been unsettled in recent months by President Donald Trump’s remarks about American allies and his pledge to take control of Greenland. In contrast to the tensions that have simmered, Rubio adopted a conciliatory and measured tone.
“We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,” Rubio said, calling for “a reinvigorated alliance.”
He emphasized that Washington’s objective is a confident and capable Europe, stating, “We want Europe to be strong,” and adding that the continent and the US “belong together.”
Repeating a central theme of the Trump administration, Rubio argued that large-scale immigration is destabilizing Western societies. He described “mass migration” as “a crisis which is transforming and destabilizing societies all across the West.”
He said that Europe and the United States are “heirs to the same great and noble civilization” and that he hoped Europe, together with us are willing and able to defend it.”
Rubio contended that the West’s triumph in the Cold War produced what he called misplaced optimism. The “euphoria,” he said, led to a “dangerous delusion that we had entered ‘the end of history,’ that every nation would now be a liberal democracy, that the ties formed by trade and by commerce alone would now replace nationhood … and that we would now live in a world without borders where everyone became a citizen of the world.”
“We made these mistakes together and now together we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward to rebuild,” Rubio said.
Explaining Washington’s tone in dealings with European capitals, he added, “This is why we Americans may sometimes come off as a little direct and urgent in our counsel.” He continued: “This is why President Trump demands seriousness and reciprocity from our friends here in Europe.”
Turning to international institutions, Rubio delivered pointed criticism of the United Nations, arguing that it has had “virtually no role” in settling today’s most urgent conflicts and calling for reforms to global bodies.
“The United Nations still has tremendous potential to be a tool for good in the world,” he told the Munich conference.
“But we cannot ignore that, today, on the most pressing matters before us, it has no answers and has played virtually no role,” he said.
Referring specifically to the conflict in Gaza, he said, “It could not solve the war in Gaza,” noting that Trump’s newly created Board of Peace received a UN mandate to oversee the devastated Palestinian territory for two years. The initiative has prompted unease in several countries that fear the board could sideline the UN and position itself as the primary venue for addressing global disputes.
Beyond immigration and criticism of the UN, Rubio largely steered clear of the domestic political and cultural issues that have fueled friction across the Atlantic. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday that such disputes had widened a “rift” between the United States and Europe.
Rubio stressed that ending the transatlantic relationship “is neither our goal nor our wish,” adding that “our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”
Highlighting the shared sacrifices of the alliance, he said “we have bled and died side-by-side on battlefields from Kapyong to Kandahar,” drawing a contrast with earlier criticism by Trump of NATO allies’ military contributions in Afghanistan that had sparked backlash. “And I’m here today to make it clear that America is charting the path for a new century of prosperity. and that once again, we want to do it together with you, our cherished allies and our oldest friends.”
Rubio’s address stood in marked contrast to remarks delivered from the same stage a year earlier by Vice President JD Vance, who criticized European policies on issues such as free speech, surprising many leaders in attendance.
The Trump administration has also argued that Europe is experiencing a “civilizational decline” and has reached out to far-right political movements across the continent. Relations deteriorated further last month after Trump renewed threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member, prompting firm opposition from European governments.
At the Munich Security Conference, European officials pledged to assume a larger share of NATO’s collective defense responsibilities, saying it was vital for countering an increasingly aggressive Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told participants that “Europe needs to step up and has to take on its responsibility” for its own security, including strengthening cooperation with Britain a decade after Brexit.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed that message, declaring, “We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” and urging the creation of “a shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defense production.”
Also addressing the conference was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Ukraine prepares to mark five years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelensky lamented that diplomatic initiatives have failed to halt the fighting. “Weapons evolve faster than political decisions meant to stop them,” he said, urging faster deliveries of Western-supplied air defense systems.
He added that “there is not a single power plant in Ukraine that is not damaged by Russian strikes” following an intensified Russian campaign against infrastructure during one of the harshest winters since the war began in February 2022.
Warning of broader dangers, Zelensky said, “No one in Ukraine believes (Russian President Vladimir Putin) will ever let our people go, but he will not let other European nations go either, because he cannot let go of the very idea of war,”
At the White House on Friday, Trump pressed Kyiv to accelerate efforts to end the conflict, telling reporters to “get moving” and saying, “Russia wants to make a deal… He has to move,”
Rubio, however, struck a more cautious note, saying, “We don’t know if the Russians are serious about ending the war.”
