Pence reassures allies Trump will not abandon EU, NATO

Pence reassures allies Trump will not abandon EU, NATO

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence meets EU and NATO leaders Monday at the end of a European trip aimed at reassuring allies worried that President Donald Trump might abandon them, AFP says.

Upon arrival in Brussels on Sunday, February 19, Pence said he looked "very much forward" to his meetings with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Brussels follows a visit to the Munich Security Conference, where Pence told European leaders and defence experts: "The United States is and will always be your greatest ally.

"President Trump and our people are truly devoted to our transatlantic union."

Trump's criticism of NATO as "obsolete", his praise for Britain's decision to leave the European Union, and his apparent tilt to Russian President Vladimir Putin have unnerved US allies.

And they continue to seek reassurance from Washington even though Pence, US Defence Secretary James Mattis and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hewed close to seven decades of transatlantic policy during their foray into Europe.

Pence said Washington would push Russia to honour the Minsk ceasefire accords in Ukraine and Tillerson said the US would only cooperate with Moscow if it benefits the American people.

But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was "struck" that Pence had never mentioned the EU, which raised doubts after Trump welcomed Brexit and appeared to hope other EU states will follow suit.

Mogherini has said Pence's visit is "a very important political sign," though she suggested EU-US relations may become more pragmatic and less automatic than before.

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