Is NATO Good For US? Vice President Mike Pence Maintains Strong Support For Alliance, Urges Others To Pay Their Fair Share

UPDATE: 7 a.m. EST — Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, calling for a new world order to replace the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which he reportedly said was “an institution of the Cold War in its mind and its heart.”

At the conference where world leaders like Angela Merkel and Mike Pence called out Moscow for “hybrid” warfare and excesses in Ukraine, Lavrov urged the development of a “post-West world order.”

Original story:

As other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization expressed concern with uncertainty over the United States’ continued involvement in the alliance, Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that the country’s support for NATO is strong and “unwavering.”

“This is President Trump's promise: we will stand with Europe today and every day, because we are bound together by the same noble ideals — freedom, democracy, justice and the rule of law,” Pence reportedly said, as he addressed European leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. The announcement, however, did not come without the mention of a fair distribution of responsibility, and spending, for all members of the military alliance.

The vice president said many European countries were “failing to pay their fair share” on defense, according to BBC, adding that such a failure “erodes the foundation of our alliance.”

Only four members of the 28-nation bloc, other than the U.S., spent the committed 2 percent of GDP on defense, reports say, which Trump has called a deal-breaker in the past.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also speaking at the conference, said the country would do its best to meet the 2 percent commitment but added that the alliance is also in the interest of the U.S.

Merkel reportedly said Russia is “actively engaged” in hybrid warfare and spreading fake news, possibly referring to the Kremlin’s alleged hacking of the U. S. presidential election as well as the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move that received international condemnation.

Pence, who spoke after Merkel, maintained the U.S will not look the other way when it came to Moscow’s aberrations, despite instances that showed proximity between the Trump administration and Russia. Reuters quoted him as saying: “Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found.”

The vice president also said Moscow has to honor the Minsk peace accords — related to its positions in Ukraine — and work towards decreasing the scale of violence in the eastern part of its neighboring country.