German defence chief slams Trump, without mentioning him by name

Germany’s defence chief on Friday hit President Trump’s dismissive attitude toward Washington’s European allies, giving a frosty reception to US envoys at the largest conclave of US and European officials since the inauguration of the New York businessman.

Speaking to a packed hall that included US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen hammered Trump’s attitudes toward Russia without ever mentioning the US leader by name.

“There can be no policy of equidistance between allies on one side and those who on the other question our borders, our values and the principles of international law,” von der Leyen said to applause at the Munich Security Conference, where Europe’s senior security leaders were gathering to figure out how to respond to Trump.

“We must pursue finding a reliable coexistence with Russia together instead of going over our partners’ heads in a bilateral relationship,” she said.

Trump has offered the most direct challenge to the transatlantic security alliance in its post-World War II history, calling NATO “obsolete,” welcoming Britain’s decision to split from the European Union and holding back from criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in 2014 redrew European borders by annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.