MUNICH — U.S. 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 U.S. 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.”
Saturday night, Pence met with the president of Ukraine and assured him of U.S. support.
Pence’s office said he “underscored U.S. support” for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and underlined that the U.S. does not recognize “Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation” of Crimea.
Russia seized the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 and continues to support separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Pence said the U.S. would demand that Russia honor a 2015 deal to end violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russia-backed separatists. He did not mention findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 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 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 U.S.
