Rubio calls for restoration of world order in Munich, says U.N. has no role in ending conflicts

During his remarks on the second day of the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the United Nations had played "practically no role" in resolving conflicts, calling for reform of global institutions.

"The United Nations still has enormous potential to be a tool for good in the world," he declared at the diplomatic summit. "But we cannot ignore that today, on the most urgent issues facing us, it has no answers and has played practically no role. It has not been able to resolve the war in Gaza," he said, while President Donald Trump has set up a "Peace Council" on the issue of the Gaza Strip, aimed at helping to resolve conflicts.

Furthermore, the head of U.S. diplomacy assured that the United States is not seeking to break the NATO transatlantic alliance but to "revitalize" it. "We are not seeking to divide, but to revitalize an old friendship," he said, adding that he wanted "a reinvigorated alliance." He added: "The United States wants allies who are proud of their culture and heritage, who understand that we are the heirs of the same great and noble civilization and who, with us, are ready and able to defend it," he asserted.

Restoring trust

On Friday, during the first day of this conference that brings together top defense and security officials in the Bavarian capital, the German chancellor also called to "repair" and "restore" transatlantic trust, which has been undermined by the American president. "In an era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone," the German chancellor added.

Since returning to power, Donald Trump, who has said that the European Union was built to "annoy" the United States, has put Europe in his crosshairs. Recently, in presenting his new National Security Strategy, the U.S. president launched a full-scale attack against the Europeans, whom he said are threatened with "civilizational erasure," against a background of threats of invasion of Greenland, an autonomous territory under Danish sovereignty.

On Friday, Marco Rubio held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the German chancellor, and had a sideline meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and his Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the margins of the conference.

The relationship is "in the midst of much uncertainty. But we have to clarify what we want for ourselves and what we must do. And the United States must clarify what it is prepared to do for Europeans," French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday to reporters, calling for a "strong Europe."

Speaking of a "sleeping giant," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also expected on Saturday, also at the conference podium, to call on Europe to reduce its "overdependence" on the United States for armaments by strengthening its industrial cooperation, according to advance excerpts of his speech. But, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, there is a "change in mindset" within NATO, where "Europe is taking on more of a leadership role" and "also taking better care of its own defense."

Zelensky's speech

The issue of the war in Ukraine has also been at the heart of the debates. Another highlight of Saturday will be the address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also present in Munich.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Zelensky Friday to "get moving" to reach an agreement with Russia, ahead of a new round of talks between Ukrainians, Russians, and Americans scheduled for next week in Geneva, Switzerland.

Marco Rubio said on this subject that he did not know if Russia was "serious" about wanting to end its invasion of Ukraine, as Washington is pushing for a quick peace deal. "We do not know if the Russians are serious about ending the war," he admitted, ahead of a new round of

France, which currently holds the rotating G7 presidency, is also set to gather foreign ministers on Saturday to discuss major international issues from Ukraine to Gaza and Iran, against a backdrop of increased U.S. military presence in the Middle East with the deployment of a second aircraft carrier in the Gulf.