Munich: Future relations between the US and European countries will increasingly be shaped by pragmatic interests rather than shared values alone, Latvia's president said on Sunday. 'It's not a love and hate relationship, and most probably we have to get into the transactional mode, we need to understand that this is changing,' Edgars Rinkevics said at the Munich Security Conference.
According to Anadolu Agency, Rinkevics' comments came after recent statements by top US officials declaring that the US is no longer 'primarily focused' on Europe's security, and American military commitments to European security would not continue indefinitely. Rinkevics emphasized the importance of European strength and offerings to maintain US interest, rather than relying solely on dialogue and diplomacy.
US Vice President JD Vance sparked controversy on Friday when in a speech to the conference he accused European governments of anti-democratic practices, specifically criticizing restrictions on social media posts and their stance against far-right and right-wing populist parties. Rinkevics expressed unease over Vance's speech but cautioned against emotional reactions, urging a thoughtful approach to the situation.
Rinkevics highlighted legitimate European concerns over fake news and Russian influence operations, stating that while freedom of speech is valued, Russia's use of information, migration, and energy as weapons should be communicated to the Trump administration.
US-European relations hit a new low following Vance's controversial speech and the announcement by Trump envoy Keith Kellogg that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia talks on Ukraine peace. US President Donald Trump has already begun discussing a potential peace process in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without consulting Europeans.
Furthermore, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed European counterparts that European countries should send their troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peace settlement, emphasizing that any deployment should be a non-NATO mission, not covered under Article 5, and without US troops.