US VP Mike Pence rebukes EU, rejects German Chancellor Angela Merkel's call to work with Russia

MUNICH (REUTERS, DPA) - US Vice-President Mike Pence has rebuked European powers over Iran and Venezuela in a renewed attack on Washington's traditional allies, rejecting a call by Germany's chancellor to include Russia in global cooperation efforts.

Chancellor Angela Merkel also issued a stark warning on Saturday (Feb 16) against abandoning international political structures, calling for treaties rejected by the United States to be rescued.

Describing the results of Mr Donald Trump's presidency as "remarkable" and "extraordinary", Mr Pence told senior European and Asian officials the European union should follow the US in quitting the Iran nuclear deal.

"America is stronger than ever before and America is leading on the world stage once again," Mr Pence told officials at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday, listing what he described as US foreign policy successes from Afghanistan to North Korea.

European leaders are troubled by Mr Trump's rhetoric, which they say is erratic and disruptive, citing his decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as undermining an arms control agreement that prevented Teheran from developing a nuclear bomb.

But Mr Pence - who last week in a visit to Poland accused Britain, Germany and France of undermining US sanctions on Iran - repeated his demand that European powers withdraw from the deal.

"The Iranian regime openly advocates another Holocaust and it seeks the means to achieve it," Mr Pence, who also visited the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, told delegates.

Mr Pence also stepped up US pressure on Chinese telecoms gear companies such as Huawei, urging allies to avoid the firms and saying Chinese law requires them to give Beijing access to networks and data.

Huawei has repeatedly denied US-led allegations that its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi rejected Mr Pence's comments as he addressed the conference.

"Chinese law doesn't require companies to install back doors to collect intelligence," Mr Yang said.

Mr Pence, who used his trip to Europe to push Mr Trump's policy of favouring sovereign states as opposed to alliances and blocs, took aim at the EU as a whole, saying "once more the Old World can take a strong stand in support of freedom in the New World" in Venezuela.

"Today, we call on the European Union to step forward for freedom and recognise Juan Guaido as the only legitimate president of Venezuela," he said, calling President Nicolas Maduro a dictator who must step down.

His speech contrasted sharply with Dr Merkel's robust defence of Germany's foreign trade relations and ties with Russia, urging global leaders meeting in Munich to work together to tackle the world's problems. Speaking before Mr Pence, Dr Merkel questioned whether the US decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal and withdrawal from Syria was the best way to tackle Teheran in the region.

She defended plans for a new natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that Mr Pence again criticised. Mr Trump has accused Germany of being a "captive" of Russia due to its reliance on Russian energy, but Dr Merkel argued: "If during the Cold War... we imported large amounts of Russian gas, I don't know why times should be so much worse today that we can say: Russia remains a partner."

Separately, Singapore's Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen met the US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan in a bilateral call on Saturday on the sidelines of the MSC. During the call, both sides "discussed ways to enhance the defence cooperation between the two countries", Singapore's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.