From February 13 to 16, Rubio will be in Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, and the central part of the visit will be his participation in the Munich Security Conference.
Speaking to reporters before his departure, Rubio assessed the current geopolitical situation:
“I think the world is at a defining moment. The world is changing very quickly, right before our eyes. The old world is gone, frankly speaking, the world I grew up in. We are living in a new era of geopolitics, and that will require all of us to rethink what that looks like and what our role will be,” said the US Secretary of State.
He added that many of these talks have already been held privately with allies, but that the dialogue must continue:
“Europe is a very important region for the US. We are very strongly connected to Europe. I think most people in this country can trace their cultural or personal origins back to Europe. So we are deeply connected and our future has always been and will continue to be connected,” Rubio said.
When asked by journalists about the plan of the visit, Rubio confirmed that he will probably meet with the Ukrainian president in Munich Volodymyr Zelensky and commented on the situation in Ukraine:
“It’s horrible. It’s a war. That’s why we want the war to end. People are suffering, it’s the coldest part of the year. It’s unimaginable suffering,” Rubio said, emphasizing US efforts to end the conflict.
In addition to Germany, Rubio will visit Slovakia and Hungary, and he particularly highlighted the meeting with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban:
“The president said he is very supportive, and so are we. This was a good opportunity to visit those countries that are very cooperative with the United States,” he added.
The Munich Security Conference takes place from February 13 to 15 and brings together heads of state and government from around 65 countries, as well as foreign and defense ministers from more than 90 countries. The conference will be opened by the German chancellor Friedrich Merzwhile Russia will not participate in the forum this year either.
Rubio concluded by emphasizing:
“Honestly, they want to know where we’re going and where we’d like to go with them. That’s our hope for this weekend.”
(Vijesti.ba)
