U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a message of reassurance to European allies at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, while the U.S. military conducted airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and five European nations accused the Kremlin of poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Rubio's speech at the conference aimed to revitalize the relationship between the U.S. and Europe, according to Time. He stated that the U.S. and Europe "belong together," a message seen as an olive branch after a previous antagonistic appearance by Vice President J.D. Vance. Rubio emphasized the shared history and intertwined destiny of the two regions, saying, "We want Europe to be strong."
Meanwhile, the U.S. military reported a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria. According to NPR News, the strikes were in retaliation for a December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter. U.S. Central Command reported conducting 10 strikes against over 30 IS targets between February 3 and Thursday, hitting weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure.
In a separate development, five European countries accused the Kremlin of poisoning Alexei Navalny. The U.K., France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands released a joint statement, as reported by Time, asserting that Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine, a rare and lethal toxin found in South American dart frogs. The statement indicated that analysis of samples taken from Navalny's body confirmed the presence of the toxin, and that the Russian government was the likely culprit. The toxin is not naturally found in Russia, and there is "no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny's body," according to the statement.
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