{"id":765615,"date":"2026-02-15T07:08:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/765615\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T07:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:08:23","slug":"munich-was-no-love-in-but-rubio-spared-europe-a-valentines-day-massacre-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/765615\/","title":{"rendered":"Munich was no love-in, but Rubio spared Europe a Valentine\u2019s Day massacre \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heavy JD Vance<\/a> vibes still hung in the air of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday when US<\/a> chief diplomat Marco Rubio<\/a> decided to spare the transatlantic relationship a Valentine\u2019s Day massacre.<\/p>\n

Though more conciliatory than the US vice-president a year ago<\/a>, it was still no love-in as Rubio dropped key Trumpian messages \u2013 from \u201cclimate cult\u201d to \u201ccivilisation erasure\u201d \u2013 on to the Munich agenda, though in a less confrontational style.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West\u2019s managed decline,\u201d said Rubio in a keynote address. \u201cWe do not seek to separate but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shuttling between realpolitik slap and diplomatic tickle, the secretary of state dismissed the West\u2019s rules-based order as \u201can overused term\u201d. Only when countries prioritised their national interests, he said, could they reverse deindustrialisation, rebalance global trade, boost domestic growth and end the West\u2019s \u201cmalaise of hopelessness and complacency\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rubio said: \u201cWe made these mistakes together and now, together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

European leaders and EU<\/a> officials, braced for the worst, applauded cautiously at the end but did not join a Brooks Brothers-suited US delegation in their standing ovation.<\/p>\n

A visibly relieved MSC chairman Wolfgang Ischinger rushed to praise Rubio\u2019s message of \u201creassurance and partnership\u201d.<\/p>\n

European Commission<\/a> president Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> said she \u2013 and others in Europe \u2013 praised Rubio as \u201ca good friend, a strong ally … and very reassuring to listen to\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that in the administration some have a harsher tone on these topics,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the secretary of state was very clear. He said \u2018We want strong Europe in the alliance\u2019, and this \u200bis what we are working for intensively in the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee took heart<\/a>, too, at Rubio\u2019s observation that the United Nations<\/a> \u2013 usually ridiculed by US president Donald Trump<\/a> and his officials \u2013 \u201cstill has tremendous potential to be a tool for good in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I took it, he said it needs to be reformed,\u201d said McEntee. \u201cThe UN has served us extremely well … but we all agree that there is change and reform needed to reform it from within to reflect the world we live in now.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"GermanGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to a bilateral meeting during the Munich Security Conference. Photograph: Michael Bihlmayer\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Immediately after Rubio, Wang Yi, China<\/a>\u2019s foreign minister and politburo member, flagged \u201cgrowing turbulence\u201d in the last year as proof that \u201chumanity has come to a new crossroads\u201d.<\/p>\n

He placed blame for tensions less with the UN, \u201cnot perfect in its current form but remains the most universal and authoritative\u201d organisation of its kind, but with unnamed \u201ccertain countries who seek to magnify differences and disagreements\u201d and \u201crevive a Cold War mentality\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a multipolar world, and need to practice true multilateralism,\u201d he added. In a final pitch to his Munich audience, unlikely to be taken to heart by all, was that China and Europe are \u201cpartners, not rivals\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we keep that in mind, we will be able to make the right choices in the face of challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While Rubio\u2019s address focused on the transatlantic relationship, with only a brief expression of hope over ongoing Ukraine<\/a>–Russia<\/a> peace talks, his Chinese counterpart covered at least five of \u201cmore than 60\u201d ongoing conflicts in the world.<\/p>\n

Wang Yi called on all parties in Iran<\/a> to act with prudence and avoid creating new conflicts while the Gaza<\/a> ceasefire and reconstruction \u201cwill require unremitting efforts to implement the two state solution and restore justice to the Palestinian<\/a> people\u201d.<\/p>\n

Turning to Venezuela<\/a> he urged all parties to ensure that \u201cthe red line of international rule of law must not be crossed\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Ukraine, Wang Yi said Beijing welcomed how \u201cthe door to dialogue is finally open,\u201d urging parties to \u201creach a comprehensive, durable and binding peace agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged \u201cchallenges\u201d to peace in China\u2019s backyard, criticising Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s recent comments on Taiwan<\/a> as unacceptable for how they \u201cviolate China\u2019s territorial sovereignty\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"UKUK prime minister Keir Starmer at the Munich Security Conference: ‘In a dangerous world, we would not take control by turning inward; we would surrender it and I won\u2019t let that happen.’ Photograph: Stefan Rousseau\/WPA\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

UK<\/a> prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a> triggered applause for deriding the notorious \u201ctake back control\u201d Brexit<\/a> slogan as, a decade later, he sidled up closer to Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a dangerous world, we would not take control by turning inward; we would surrender it and I won\u2019t let that happen,\u201d he said. Risking the wrath of the British opposition and right-wing press, Starmer insisted there was \u201cno British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the lesson of history and it\u2019s today\u2019s reality as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

On a French offer to extend its nuclear deterrence to Germany and possibly the rest of Europe, Starmer said that \u201cfor decades, the United Kingdom has been the only nuclear power in Europe to commit its deterrent to protect all Nato<\/a> members\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny adversary must know that in a crisis, they could be confronted by our combined strength,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Asked about last month\u2019s Greenland<\/a> crisis, he welcomed its shift \u201cinto a process of dialogue, which is where it should have been\u201d.<\/p>\n

Danish<\/a> prime minister Mette Frederiksen<\/a> sounded less convinced. Trump\u2019s plan to annex Greenland, a part of the Danish kingdom, by force if necessary \u201cis exactly the same\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AtAt the Munich Security Conference, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, expressed frustration at how some promised European arms deliveries took ‘months’ or ‘years’ to arrive. Photograph: Alex Kraus\/Bloomberg <\/p>\n

In advance of talks with Russia next week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy<\/a> warned that the war \u2013 and Russian aggression \u2013 continued to evolve. After thanks, and slides outlining new drone and missile types, he aired frustration at how some promised European arms deliveries took \u201cmonths\u201d or \u201cyears\u201d to arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who seeks security and peace must understand this: every day matters,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Events in Munich took an unexpected turn in the afternoon with a statement from Julia Navalnaya, widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny<\/a>, confirming that her husband was poisoned in prison using epibatidine \u2013 a neurotoxin, one of the deadliest known poisons.<\/p>\n

The result was clear, she said, from an analysis backed by laboratories in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth,\u201d she added. \u201cVladimir Putin<\/a> is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking in Munich, UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: \u201cOnly the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the MSC high-security venue, almost 250,000 exiled Iranians gathered in Munich for what surprised organisers called Europe\u2019s largest-ever rally<\/a> demanding an end to the Islamic regime.<\/p>\n

Chanting \u201cChange! Change! Change!\u201d and \u201cJavid shah\u201d (long live the shah) demonstrators ignored rain and wind to transform the Oktoberfest meadow into a sea of green-white-red flags with lion and sun emblems of the Pahlavi dynasty.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators descended from all over Europe in response to a rally call from exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah, deposed during the 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n

In Munich, Pahlavi urged world leaders to push for an end to the regime \u201cresponsible for the bloodshed of my compatriots\u201d, with an estimated 18,000 deaths last month alone.<\/p>\n

The Iranian government\u2019s continued survival, he said, \u201csends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo president Trump … the Iranian people heard you say \u2018help is on the way\u2019, and they have faith in you. Help them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to end the Islamic Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pahlavi is criticised by many in Iran\u2019s opposition for his pro-Israel stance and refusal to distance himself from his father\u2019s autocratic rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here to promote the monarchy,\u201d said Pahlavi in Munich. \u201cLet the Iranians decide what system they want.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heavy JD Vance vibes still hung in the air of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[67654,1395,365,2000,299,5187,2557,1699,36,10982,1824,366,86298,837,601,2820,48802,69751,1814,332,9041,15,49,1220,978,8518,333,20729],"class_list":{"0":"post-765615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-alexei-navalny","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-denmark","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-european","14":"tag-european-commission","15":"tag-european-union","16":"tag-france","17":"tag-gaza-strip","18":"tag-germany","19":"tag-greenland","20":"tag-helen-mcentee","21":"tag-israel","22":"tag-jd-vance","23":"tag-marco-rubio","24":"tag-mette-frederiksen","25":"tag-north-atlantic-treaty-organisation-nato","26":"tag-palestine","27":"tag-russia","28":"tag-ukraine-crisis","29":"tag-united-kingdom","30":"tag-united-states","31":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","32":"tag-us","33":"tag-venezuela","34":"tag-vladimir-putin","35":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116073392030340835","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}