When Biden last addressed the Munich Security Conference two years ago, he made a promise to a packed-in crowd at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof.

"This too shall pass," Biden said in 2019, lamenting the isolationist turn the US took under then-President Donald Trump.

And he voiced support for NATO and its Article 5 commitment to collective defense, something Trump sometimes appeared reluctant to affirm during his years in office.

It was an attempt both by Biden and his counterparts to move on from the tumult and unpleasantness of the Trump years, which left transatlantic ties badly strained.

Whether they can be quickly restored remains an open question; European leaders have eyed with caution the insurrection attempt on January 6 as evidence of pervasive division in the United States that cannot be quickly erased.

Still, Biden made the case that -- for now at least -- the United States will return to the table.

"I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship," he said, addressing the conference remotely from the White House East Room.

And while he said the US remained committed to ensuring Afghanistan does not again become a safe haven for terrorists, he did not outline plans for a US troop withdrawal.

Instead, his remarks were meant as a broad statement of support for US-Europe ties after four years in the wilderness.

"The last four years have been hard, but Europe and the United States have to lead with confidence once more, with faith in our capacities, a commitment to our own renewal, with trust in one another," he said.

Meeting earlier over video conference with the G7 from the White House Situation Room, Biden joined a club in which he's long sought membership.