Pence: Administration policy is ‘America first,’ not ‘America alone’

.@KristinFisher interviews @VP on his trip to Estonia. pic.twitter.com/l5GYicTDtj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 30, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence looked to reassure NATO allies on his trip to Eastern Europe on Sunday, saying President Trump’s “America first” policies are not meant to isolate U.S. allies.
“President Trump sent me to eastern Europe with a very simple message, that is America first doesn’t mean America alone,” Pence said in an interview with Fox News during a stop in Tallinn, Estonia.
“Our message to the Baltic states, my message when we visit Georgia and Montenegro will be the same. To our allies in Eastern Europe, we are with you, we stand with you on behalf of freedom,” he continued.
Pence’s visit comes as tensions between NATO member states and Russia continue to rise. He arrived in Estonia on Sunday to showcase support for NATO allies in the Baltic region and Eastern Europe.
It also comes as Trump prepares to sign legislation that would slap brand new sanctions on Russia.
“The president has made it very clear that Russia’s destabilizing activities and support for rogue regimes and its activities in Ukraine are unacceptable. The president made it clear that very soon he will sign sanctions from the Congress to reinforce that,” Pence said Sunday.
“But at the same time as we make our intentions clear that we expect Russian behavior to change, the president and I remain very hopeful that we’ll see very different behavior from the Russian government,” he added.
{mosads}Russia caught the attention of NATO and its allies earlier this month, when when it sent 2,500 troops to the Latvian and Estonian borders as a part of a military drill in the Pskov region.
It’s also at the heart of the election meddling investigations that have expanded to include questions about possible Trump campaign contact with Moscow.
The vice president will also make stops in Montenegro, which became a NATO member earlier this year, and Georgia, which has attempted to join the alliance in the past.
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