Europe remains Washington's 'essential partner': Clinton

Saturday, 04 February 2012 14:02

MUNICH: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday that Europe remains Washington's "partner of first resort," even as the United States marks a strategic pivot to Asia.

In a speech in Munich, Germany, that was laden with assurances for Europe, Clinton pledged cooperative efforts for a united and secure Europe, mutual economic recovery, an "agile" security alliance, and a democratic Middle East.

The chief US diplomat also urged her European partners at the Munich Security Conference to work together in meeting "the opportunities that lie ahead" in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Taken together, all of these elements point to a larger, enduring truth: when Americans envision the future, we see Europe as our essential partner," Clinton told the international conference in the southern German city.

"I've heard all the talk about where Europe fits into America's global outlook. I've heard some of the doubts expressed. But the reality couldn't be clearer: Europe is America's partner of first resort," she stressed.

Forced to make tough choices in tight budgetary times, the United States is shifting its military priorities to Asia and the Middle East -- even if it has pulled its troops out of Iraq and begins a drawdown in Afghanistan.

Reducing its troop presence in Europe, Washington sees the looming strategic challenge in the Asia-Pacific region as a newly powerful and assertive China rattles US allies in the region.

In opening the conference here Friday, German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Europe should not fear a renewed US focus on Asia and must increasingly look after its own backyard militarily without its historic ally.