Munich, Germany - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure a nervous Europe on Saturday, saying that Washington wanted to recharge the transatlantic alliance so that a strong Europe could help the US on its mission of global "renewal."

Speaking at a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by President Donald Trump's vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about US allies, Washington's top diplomat struck a markedly soothing tone.

"We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history," Rubio said, calling for "a reinvigorated alliance."

"We want Europe to be strong," Rubio said, adding that the continent and the US "belong together."

He echoed Trump administration's oft-stated assertion that immigration posed a threat, saying that "mass migration" was "a crisis which is transforming and destabilising societies all across the West."

He said that Europe and the US were "heirs to the same great and noble civilization" and that he hoped Europe "together with us are willing and able to defend it."

Aside from immigration, Rubio otherwise largely avoided the MAGA flashpoint and culture war issues that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, had deepened a "rift" between the US and Europe.

Rubio's speech marked a sharp contrast to that of Vice President JD Vance a year ago, when he used the same stage to attack European policies on a range of issues, including free speech, shocking European allies.

The Trump administration has also charged that Europe faced a "civilizational decline" and has courted far-right parties on the continent.