Many European policymakers appear to still be smarting from U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s tough words about the region at last year’s Munich Security Conference.

So, it’s perhaps not too surprising that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments on Saturday at this year’s event underscoring the U.S. and Europe’s common heritage, goals and challenges have come as something of a relief in European capitals.

“[Rubio] delivered a speech which still assured us that we stand together in this partnership between Europe and the United States,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told CNBC in an interview on the sidelines of the conference. “Of course, there are some questions which we will have to discuss, but in the end of the day, his message was clear that we were so successful in the past, and we should do the job once again with new threats, with new tests in the 21st century.”

On Saturday, Rubio said the U.S. has no intention of abandoning its deep alliance with Europe and wants the region to succeed.

“We want Europe to be strong,” he told the gathering of defense and security officials in the German city. “We believe that Europe must survive, because the two great wars of the last century serve, for us, as history’s great reminder, that ultimately, our destiny is, and will always be, intertwined with yours.”

Contrast that to Vance’s message to the same crowd last year, when he spoke of the “retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” He lambasted his audience about the health of their democracies, their migration policies and freedom of speech.

While Rubio’s tone might have been more conciliatory than Vance’s, the underlying issues remained the same, as some conference attendees acknowledged.

“Of course, there were some issues he raised. We would answer differently when it comes to the migration problem, when it comes, of course, to question how we organize our legal framework here in Europe with regard to the digital services. And of course, also with the question of freedom of speech and so,” Wadephul said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently criticized Europe for its open migration policies, for being too reliant on the U.S. for its security and has pushed NATO allies to boost defense spending. His pursuit of ownership of Greenland, a Danish territory, has also rattled European leaders in recent months.

“The message we heard (from Rubio) is that America and Europe are intertwined, they have been in the past and will be in the future,” the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said at a panel discussion on Sunday. “I think this is important. It is also clear that we don’t see eye-to-eye in all the issues and that this will remain the case. But I think we can work from there.”

Cuba’s communist-run government is facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up the pressure on the Caribbean island since the Jan. 3, military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a long-time ally of Cuba’s government. Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack.

Trump has since effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil, called its government “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the move and said: “Surrender is not an option.” He’s since said the government is prepared to hold talks with Washington, albeit “without pressure or preconditions.”

The country has warned that international airlines would no longer be able refuel in the country due to fuel shortages. Gripped by a worsening economic crisis, Cuba’s government recently adopted rationing measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.

The plan reportedly includes restrictions on fuel sales, the closure of some tourist establishments, shortening school days and a shorter working week at state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday.

“The current situation in Cuba is as serious as it has been since the 1990s, when Cuba suddenly had to survive without the support of the Eastern Bloc,” Par Kumaraswami, professor of Latin American Studies at the U.K.’s University of Nottingham, told CNBC by email.

Trump’s tariff threats have created a deterrent for many nations, Kumaraswami said.

Mexico has sent humanitarian aid but suspended oil shipments, as it sought to preserve its relationship with Havana while avoiding Trump’s tariffs.

Kumaraswami said there was “of course frustration with the difficulties of daily life,” but that “many Cubans are resolved to resist threats to their national sovereignty and a new wave of patriotism has emerged.”

Air Canada subsequently has canceled all flights to Cuba amid the fuel shortage, though the airline said Monday that it would bring some 3,000 customers already in the country home over the coming days.

Tourism is a significant source of revenue for Cuba’s cash-strapped government and the country is a popular winter vacation destination for Canadian tourists.

Unlike in previous crises, Cuba’s regime lacks foreign partners that can step in to help, according to Robert Munks, head of Americas research at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“Raising the stakes, the US has also limited Cuba’s access to hard currency and pressured Nicaragua to end visa-free travel for Cubans,” Munks told CNBC by email.

The government’s pledge to increase the use of limited renewable energy sources is likely “too little, too late,” Munks said. He added that outbreaks of civil unrest were possible, given that the island’s domestic energy production is far short of what it needs to keep the lights on.

“An accelerating collapse of basic services will put the regime under extreme pressure to find a negotiated solution,” Munks said.

He added that “the odds are shortening” on Díaz-Canel being forced from power in the months ahead in a Maduro-style managed transition, but Munks said it was more likely that “the regime will try to muddle through” until the U.S. midterm elections in November.

Cuba’s dwindling oil supplies prompted the United Nations to warn of a possible humanitarian “collapse” last week.

“The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that Beijing “stands firmly against the inhumane actions that deprive the Cuban people of their right to subsistence and development.” They added that China would, “as always,” seek to provide assistance to Cuba.

Russia, meanwhile, has described Havana’s fuel situation as “truly critical” and said U.S. attempts to further pressure the country were causing numerous problems.

“The Cuban government is not going to submit,” Yaffe said. “The fact is, [the U.S. is] going to keep squeezing and the Cubans are going to keep resisting and there’s going to be a lot of unnecessary suffering.”

She added: “I’m a historian and it’s very vainglorious for historians to try and predict the future but we can look at trends — and I can guarantee you that we were here before in the early 1990s where nobody thought Cuba would pull together and pull through — and they did.”