Vice President JD Vance reiterated on Friday that NATO remains an important alliance for the United States, as the Munich Security Conference kicked off in Germany with the Russia-Ukraine war expected to be a focal point of discussions.

“Europe is of course a very important ally to the United States, NATO is a very important military alliance … but we want to make sure NATO is actually built for the future, and part of that is ensuring that NATO does a little bit more burden-sharing in Europe so the United States can focus on some of our challenges in East Asia,” Vance said, speaking to reporters beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

His remarks echo those made by other members of the Trump administration in recent days as it seeks to dramatically reshape decades of American foreign policy in Europe, warning that the US will no longer prioritize European security and focus more on its own borders and battling China for dominance.

“Of course we’re going to talk about NATO, particularly the president’s desire to see NATO spend a little bit more resources on defense,” Vance said. “We’re going to talk of course about the Ukraine-Russia conflict and how to bring it to a negotiated settlement, and I’m sure we’ll talk about some other areas of cooperation too.”

Vance is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning.

Rutte thanked Vance for Washington’s past engagement with Europe, agreeing that the increased burden-sharing “has to be done.” He added that discussions about ending the Russia-Ukraine war had to consider how to establish lasting peace and strengthen Ukraine’s position before talks begin.

/CNN