Russia Saturday called for an end to an outdated world order dominated by the West, even as US Vice President Mike Pence pledged Washington's 'unwavering' commitment to its transatlantic allies in NATO.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov laid out a diametrically opposed global vision and offered 'pragmatic' ties with the United States, just hours after Pence vowed to stand with Europe to rein in a resurgent Moscow.

'I hope that (the world) will choose a democratic world order - a post-West one - in which each country is defined by its sovereignty,' said Lavrov.

The time when the West called the shots was over while NATO was a relic of the Cold War, he said.

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Vice President Mike Pence (left) has said the US will 'hold Russia accountable' even as President Donald Trump searches for common ground with Vladimir Putin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) called for a new 'post-West' world order

In its place, Moscow wanted a relationship with Washington that is 'pragmatic with mutual respect and acknowledgement of our common responsibility for global stability.'

The two countries had never been in direct conflict, he said, and were close neighbors across the Bering Strait.

Moscow has been impatiently waiting for US President Donald Trump to make good on his pledge to improve ties which plunged to a post-Cold War low as Barack Obama slapped on sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and Russia's alleged meddling in Trump's election.

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and voiced his willingness to work with him in fighting terrorism.

Pence (left) is seen with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) at the conference in Munich. European governments have been unsettled by the signals sent by Trump on a range of foreign policy issues ranging from NATO and Russia to Iran, Israel and European integration

But in the face of growing heat over its links to Moscow, Trump's administration appears to be backing off the warmer words used earlier for the former Cold War foe.

Pence said earlier on Saturday that the US will 'hold Russia accountable' even as Trump searches for common ground with Putin's administration.

Pence told the Munich Security Conference in Germany that the international community must also demand that Russia honors a 2015 peace agreement aimed at ending the fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists.

He also offered assurances over the US commitment to NATO and the European Union in his address to the international conference of foreign diplomats and defense officials.

A day earlier, Republican Senator John McCain (left) broke with the reassuring message that US officials visiting Germany have sought to convey on their debut trip to Europe, saying on Friday that Trump's (right) administration was in 'disarray'

Pence declared: 'Know this: The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground which, as you know, President Trump believes can be found.'

A day earlier, Republican Senator John McCain broke with the reassuring message that US officials visiting Germany have sought to convey on their debut trip to Europe, saying on Friday that the Trump administration was in 'disarray.'

McCain, a known Trump critic, told the Munich Security Conference that the resignation of the new president's security adviser Michael Flynn over his contacts with Russia reflected deep problems in Washington.

'I think that the Flynn issue obviously is something that shows that in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do,' said McCain.

'The president, I think, makes statements (and) on other occasions contradicts himself. So we've learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says,' he said.

European governments have been unsettled by the signals sent by Trump on a range of foreign policy issues ranging from NATO and Russia to Iran, Israel and European integration.

The debut trip to Europe of Trump's Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to a meeting of G20 counterparts in Bonn, went some way to assuaging concerns as they both took a more traditional US position.

But Trump is wrestling with a growing controversy at home about potential ties between his aides and Russia, which he dismissed on Thursday as a 'ruse' and 'scam' perpetrated by a hostile news media.

Mattis made clear to allies, both at NATO in Brussels and in Munich, that the United States would not retreat from leadership as the European continent grapples with an assertive Russia, wars in eastern and southern Mediterranean countries, and attacks by Islamist militants.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (left) meets with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (right) at a G20 meeting in Bonn, Germany, on Thursday

Pence also reinforced the Trump administration's message that NATO members must spend more on defense.

The 28 member countries committed in 2014 to spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade.

But only the US and four other members of the post-Second World War military coalition are meeting the standard, Pence said.

Failure to meet the commitment, he said, 'erodes the very foundation of our alliance'.

The US vice president added: 'Let me be clear on this point: The president of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, to fulfill this commitment and, for most, that means the time has come to do more.'

Pence will meet German chancellor Angela Merkel later.

She addressed the conference just before the US vice president, stressing the need to maintain international alliances and saying that NATO is 'in the American interest'.

Merkel appealed to the United States and others to support and bolster multilateral organisations such as the European Union and United Nations, as well as NATO.

She told the gathering of other world leaders, diplomats and defense officials that 'acting together strengthens everyone'.

Her address came amid concern about the Trump administration's approach to international affairs and fears that it may have little interest in working in multilateral forums.

Merkel asked: 'Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles? I call on us – and I hope we will find a common position on this – let's make the world better together and then things will get better for every single one of us.'