US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has softened his tone with the European Union.
As he embarked on a European tour, Rubio made his first stop in Bratislava where, at a conference given together with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, he said that the US does not want Europe to be dependent on the United States.
"We are not asking Europe to be a vassal of the United States. We want to be your partner. The stronger you are, both individually in terms of countries and collectively as an alliance, the stronger the members of NATO are, the stronger NATO is," Rubio said.
At the same time, Rubio guaranteed that the United States of America will not abandon NATO. According to international media reports, the United States has already decided to cede two key NATO command posts to European representatives: the headquarters in Naples, Italy, and the one in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
On Monday, Secretary Rubio will meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of President Donald Trump.