Top German politicians see conciliatory tone in Rubio speech

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech on the state of the trans-Atlantic alliance in Munich on Saturday drew a cautious, but broadly positive, response from top German politicians.

Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference was "very conciliatory" and "very diplomatic," but stressed that deep differences persisted.

"We simply have to recognize that we currently have many issues in the trans-Atlantic relationship that aren't working well together," he told dpa.

"Therefore, the worst thing that could happen now would be for the Europeans to sit back and say: 'Everything's fine again now.'"

Klingbeil said the shift in tone from Washington reflected Europe's firmer stance toward the United States, pointing in particular to its united pushback against President Donald Trump's bid to take control of Greenland.

Germany's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, said he felt relief after the speech.

"That was the speech I expected," he said, calling Rubio "a true partner" whom he had known for some time.

He added that the presence of a large bipartisan congressional delegation at the conference showed that, despite tensions, Europe and Germany "have partners in the US."

Norbert Röttgen, a senior member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU party, said Rubio had set out a framework "within which the differences of opinion in the trans-Atlantic relationship can be discussed," although he noted that it lacked concrete policy details, including on stopping Russia's war against Ukraine.

In his speech, Rubio said that Europe and the United States "belong together," but that the decades-old alliance must be revitalized.

The message, while at times highly critical of Europe on issues such as migration, was received with relief in the conference hall and greeted with applause.