(Ray Furlong – RFE/RL) When US Vice President JD Vance came to the Munich Security Conference last year, he stunned his hosts by telling them that suppression of free speech by Washington’s European allies was a bigger security risk than Russian military aggression. This year, with the US delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Europeans may hope for an easier ride — while Russia and China watch closely for new signs of fractures in the Western alliance. “Secretary Rubio and the vice president deliver messages differently, and they have different personal styles. But I think there’s 100 percent alignment on policy,” Alexander Gray, who served on the National Security Council (NSC) during Trump’s first term in the White House, told RFE/RL. “The message will look like the National Security Strategy (NSS): clear about our interests and where they overlap with Europe but not shy about calling out areas of concerning disagreement,” he added.
No ‘Divorce’: A Year After ‘Provocative’ Vance Speech, What Will Be Rubio’s Message At Munich?
