Mike Pompeo calls on European allies to band together against Russia, China

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Germany and its western European neighbors to band together against countries like Russia and China during a speech in Berlin on Friday.

Tensions have been running high between the United States and its European allies after the Trump administration moved to place 10 to 25 percent tariffs on a record $7.5 billion of European Union products. The bloc had threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs as well.

Pompeo, who made the visit on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, referred to that event, along with the American Revolution and World War II.

"We have a duty, each of us, to use all we have to defend what was so hard won in 1776, in 1945 and in 1989," Pompeo said. "And we have to do it together because it's not easy and doing it alone is impossible."

Pompeo made pointed comments about Russia and China, saying that they are in a "competition of values" with them.

"Today, Russia, led by a former KGB officer stationed in Dresden, invades its neighbors and slays political opponents," Pompeo said. "The Chinese Communist Party uses tactics and methods to suppress its own people that would be horrifyingly familiar to former East Germans."

On Thursday during a news conference in Leipzig, Pompeo touted "values" that tie the United States, Germany and other western European countries together, such as the respect for the rule of law and the freedom of speech and religion.

"These values links us together as nations and people and they define our foreign policy choices," Pompeo said. "Not all nations share these values."