Marco Rubio

We're not asking Europe to be a vassal of the United States.

We want to be your partner.

We want to work with Europe.

We want to work with our allies.

We want to work in cooperation with you.

And our point has been and continues to be the stronger you are, both on an individual basis in terms of countries and collectively as an alliance, the stronger the members of NATO are, the stronger NATO is.

People, you know, they go crazy.

They think, oh, that means you're going to abandon NATO.

You're going to abandon your allies.

I think the point we're making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively.

We're aware of that case, Mr. Navalny, and certainly it's, you know,

Well, we don't have any reason to question it or we're not disputing or getting into a fight with these countries over it.

People, you know, they go crazy.

They think, oh, that means you're going to abandon NATO.

You're going to abandon your allies.

I think the point we're making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively.

In a message of unity at the Munich Security Conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast the United States as a child of Europe, saying America's roots began on this continent.

Rubio said the U.S.

wants to revitalize an old friendship because, quote, the fate of Europe will never be irrelevant to our own.

He struck a firm tone about the administration's intent to reshape the alliance and push its priorities from tackling mass migration to strengthening our economies and military power.