Mike Pence says US to hold Russia accountable, stand with Nato

The Vice President said the administration would be ‘unwavering’ in its commitment to the national alliance

US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday conveyed a message to jittery partners that the Trump administration will "hold Russia accountable" and maintain steadfast support for NATO, a military alliance the American commander in chief once dismissed as "obsolete".

In his overseas debut as vice president, Pence told the audience at the Munich Security Conference that the US would be "unwavering" in its commitment to NATO and that President Donald Trump would "stand with Europe." Pence pointed to their shared "noble ideals — freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law."

Addressing the violence in Ukraine, Pence said the US would demand that Russia honour a 2015 deal to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists. He did not mention findings by US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in last year's presidential election to help Trump win the White House.

"Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which as you know President Trump believes can be found," Pence said.

Pence's address and a series of one-on-one meetings with world leaders along the sidelines here sought to calm nervous European allies who remain concerned about Russian aggression, including its annexation of Crimea. Many have been alarmed by Trump's positive statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pence's speech aimed to reassure international partners who worry that Trump may pursue isolationist tendencies.

After his speech, Pence met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called for the maintenance of international alliances and told the audience, with Pence seated nearby, that NATO is “in the American interest.”

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, told the conference after Pence's speech that Moscow wanted “pragmatic relations” with the US. He said he hoped that “responsible leaders” would choose to create a “just world order, if you want you can call it a post-West world order.”

European countries along Russia's border are rattled by the prospect of deeper US-Russia ties after Trump suggested sanctions — contrary to the opinions of Merkel and other world leaders — imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea could be eased in exchange for a nuclear weapons deal. The president referred to NATO as “obsolete” in an interview before his inauguration, but has since tempered his language and has stressed the importance of the alliance during telephone conversations with foreign leaders.

But mindful that the new US president often lashes out on Twitter, some attendees remained skeptical that the speech represented Trump's thinking and said his foreign policy moves would be closely watched.

“We are waiting for actions,” said Polish President Andrzej Duda. “We only know what the media has reported and the statements that we've got. Now we are waiting for actions of the new government of Donald Trump.”

Wrote US Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Twitter: “Looks like we have 2 governments. (at)VP just gave speech about shared values btwn US and Europe as (at)POTUS openly wages war on those values.”

Michael Chertoff, a former Homeland Security secretary under US President George W. Bush, noted that Pence's comments about NATO and Europe echoed assurances given by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “They've all been consistent about the fact that there is a strong, deep and enduring commitment to Europe and to NATO and I think that message has been received,” Chertoff said.

In his remarks, Pence also reinforced the Trump administration's message that NATO members must spend more on defense.

NATO's 28-member countries committed in 2014 to spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. But only the US and four other members of the post-World War II military coalition are meeting the standard, Pence said.

Failure to meet the commitment, he said, “erodes the very foundation of our alliance.”

“Let me be clear on this point: The president of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment and, for most, that means the time has come to do more,” Pence said.

In a day of meetings and photo ops, Pence was sitting down with the leaders of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and separately with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko — countries dealing with the threat of Russian incursion. The vice president also scheduled a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The former Indiana governor's stature within the administration was also under scrutiny after the recent dismissal of Trump's national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn. Flynn was forced to resign Monday following reports he misled Pence about contacts with a Russian diplomat. The vice president learned that he had been misled through media accounts about two weeks after the president was informed.

Pence also met with the leaders of Iraq and Afghanistan, where the US remains embroiled in two separate wars. Trump has made clear his intention to defeat the Islamic State group. But he also said the US may get a second chance to take Iraqi oil as compensation for its efforts in the war-torn country, a notion that has been rebuffed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Trump's immigration and refugee ban has ruffled feathers with a number of Muslim-majority countries affected by the order, which is currently tied up in court, including Iraq — a close ally in the fight against IS. Trump has promised to issue a revised order, possibly as soon as next week.