(7 Nov 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his German counterpart Heiko Maas stressed the importance of the NATO alliance Thursday, saying that trans-Atlantic cooperation was critical in bringing about the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago and is still relevant today.
Their strong defence of the alliance came after French President Emmanuel Macron claimed in an interview that a lack of US leadership is causing the "brain death" of NATO.
Speaking after visiting the German village of Moedlareuth, which was divided into two during the Cold War, Pompeo told reporters it was the "remarkable work" of democratic nations that "created freedom and brought millions of people out of very, very difficult situations."
"I think NATO remains an important, critical, perhaps historically one of the most critical, strategic partnerships in all of recorded history," Pompeo told reporters in Leipzig.
Maas also weighed in, saying he did "not believe NATO is brain dead," adding "I firmly believe in international cooperation."
US President Donald Trump has worried many NATO countries with comments that the trans-Atlantic alliance is "obsolete," and has urged other member states to spend more on defence, saying Washington pays a disproportionate share.
Pompeo said Trump's stance urging countries to live up to NATO commitments to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defence showed the alliance is "so central, so important" to the US.
"That is why it is an absolute imperative that every country participate and join in and contribute appropriately to achieving that shared security mission," he said.
Maas stressed the gratitude Germany feels toward the United States, which for decades defended the West German border with military might and political backing.
Maas, who was widely criticised in recent days for failing to mention the US contribution to ending the Cold War in an op-ed that was published in 26 European newspapers over the weekend, appeared to go out of his way to name American leaders who helped bring the divided nation back together again in 1989.
"We owe our freedom and our unity to you and the historical role played in this process by several American presidents," he said.
"The United States remains Europe's closest ally and Germany's closest ally outside of Europe," said Maas, stressing that Berlin continues to see shared values as the basis for the trans-Atlantic relationship.
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