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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
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RFI

US top diplomat Rubio says West must choose ‘national power’ or decline

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis in the background, in Athens,Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis in the background, in Athens,Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool AP via AP - Mark Schiefelbein

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a combative defence of Washington’s right to wield its “national power” in Athens on Wednesday, while urging Europe to “awaken from its long slumber”.

"We are at an inflection point ... not only in the history of my nation but an inflection point in the whole of our civilisation," Rubio said in a speech beneath the Acropolis.

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