The 58th Munich Security Conference begins on Friday. More than 30 heads of state and government are expected. However, one of the currently most controversial politicians is missing.
- The Munich Security Conference starts on Friday – numerous guests have been invited, but not all have come (see first report).
- Much will revolve around the current Ukraine-Russia conflict.
- Before the conference, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized the willingness to engage in dialogue with Russia (Update from February 18, 6.40 a.m.).
- This News ticker for the Munich Security Conference is continuously updated.
Update from February 18, 1 p.m.: The gallop to the Munich Security Conference is already underway: Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), for example, welcomed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and gave him a beer present, as Twitter photos show.
It gets serious from 1.30 p.m.: Then Siko boss Wolfgang Ischinger will officially open the conference. The first peak is still on Friday. At 2 p.m., Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her American counterpart Antony Blinken will hold a public debate. The topic is broadly defined with “global challenges” – the Ukraine crisis is likely to play a major role.
There could also be explosives in the evening: At 6:30 p.m. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will talk about the danger of an “illiberal wave”. The title of the round could provide space for discussions about controversial policies by Viktor Orban* or Donald Trump.
Finally, appearances by Söder, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj are on the program on Saturday. You can follow the highlights of the public rounds on this page in a live stream from Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Kiev’s Mayor Wladimir Klitschko spoke to a press conference in Munich on Thursday evening – and appealed to the federal government. In view of the situation on the Ukrainian border, the focus is also on the past: in 2007 Vladimir Putin had just announced a political turnaround at Munich Siko*.
Munich Security Conference: First high-ranking participant is canceled due to corona
Update from February 18, 10:55 a.m.: A first high-ranking government representative is absent from the Munich Security Conference – due to a positive corona test: On Wednesday, the Swiss Federal President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, together with Health Minister Alain Berset in Bern, announced the end of practically all corona measures in Switzerland. Both sat at a distance, but at times without a mask at a press conference on the podium. Cassis has now tested positive for Corona and cannot take part in the Siko
Cassis immediately isolated himself after the test and is working from home, the State Department said. He has no symptoms and is in good health.
Security conference starts on Friday: boss Ischinger sees “really dangerous crises”
Update from February 18, 7:58 a.m.: The head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, considers this year’s meeting to be “probably the most important conference” in the 14 years he has chaired. There have “never been so many urgent and really dangerous crises to be discussed and dealt with at once,” Ischinger said on Friday in the ARD “Morgenmagazin” before the start of the 58th Munich Security Conference.
Ischinger described Russia’s “reproach about the feeling of a threat” from a possible future NATO membership of Ukraine as “very, very far-fetched”. “It’s actually almost absurd, because NATO hasn’t taken a single step towards eastward expansion since 2004 (…),” said Ischinger. It must be asked why Russia is now hanging this question so high.
“Ukraine’s NATO membership is not up for debate,” said Ischinger, referring to statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)*. There is “of course something much deeper behind it,” said Ischinger: This is “the Russian desire to restore a situation in which the Russian Federation is surrounded by countries that are subordinate to Russia, which should therefore renounce their complete independence and sovereignty “. In the current situation, it is “really the other way around, nobody is threatening Russia”.
Munich Security Conference: Baerbock regrets the lack of talks with Russia
Update from February 18, 6.40 a.m.: Talking about Russia, but not with Russia – that could be the unofficial motto of the Munich Security Conference. For the first time in decades, Moscow is not sending an official delegation. The West is solely concerned with the Ukraine crisis. Before the world’s most important meeting of experts on security policy, the security situation in Europe had not been as precarious as it was this time.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to use the deliberations of the Western allies in the context of the Munich Security Conference to signal a willingness to engage in dialogue in the Ukraine conflict. The message must be: “We are ready for a serious dialogue about security for everyone,” said Baerbock before leaving for Munich on Friday morning.
With the “unprecedented deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine and demands from the Cold War”, Russia has called the “basic principles of the European peace order into question”. She wants to discuss with the allies “how we can counter the logic of threats of violence and military escalation with a logic of dialogue”. She regretted that there would be no talks with Russian representatives in Munich. Baerbock called on Russia to take “serious steps towards de-escalation: declarations of willingness to talk must be backed up by real offers of talks, declarations of troop withdrawals must be backed up by verifiable troop withdrawals”.
The Munich Security Conference is expecting top-class guests – but perhaps the most important thing is missing
First report from February 17th: Munich – A Munich security conference under such dramatic global political omens – that hasn’t happened in a long time. Around 600 guests are expected in the Bavarian state capital from Friday (February 18) to Sunday, including high-ranking politicians such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Vice President Kamala Harris. In total, more than 100 ministers and more than 30 heads of state and government have announced their participation. One topic should be at the top of the agenda: the crisis in Ukraine* and a possible Russian invasion of the country.
While the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is also expected and has announced that he will hold a talk on “Ukraine and the European security architecture” on Saturday, the Kremlin – unlike in the past – declined all invitations to high-ranking politicians to the security conference. The head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, said he had invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, former President Dmitry Medvedev and Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin * – but in vain.
Munich Security Conference: Scholz, Baerbock and Lambrecht take part
Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) are coming to Munich for the German government, which has recently been heavily involved in international crisis diplomacy relating to the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine * travel. Baerbock, as chair of the foreign ministers of the G7 countries, will meet with her colleagues on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Talks are also planned between Germany, France and Ukraine, i.e. three of the four partners of the Normandy format*, in which an attempt is made with Russia to find a way out of the conflict.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and UN Secretary General António Guterres will also attend the security conference. Guterres will give a speech on Friday on international cooperation in times of increasing crisis, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday. He will also conduct a series of one-on-ones; it was not initially known whether there would be a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In addition to the Ukraine crisis and the future of NATO, there will also be intensive discussions in Munich about the challenges posed by climate change. Secretary of State Baerbock will discuss this at a panel on “International Climate Diplomacy” together with the US government’s special envoy for climate issues, John Kerry.
Munich Security Conference: 1000 bottles of wine for the guests
The Munich Security Conference has been taking place since 1963 and is a private event. After the conference could only be held virtually last year due to the corona pandemic, participants from all over the world will meet again this year at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof* in the center of the Bavarian state capital. All guests must be vaccinated and PCR tested daily. Should an infection nevertheless occur, quarantine rooms are kept ready, explained CEO Benedikt Franke image.
Many conversations will probably take place again this year in a familiar setting in the back rooms of the spacious luxury hotel. As the Southgerman newspaper writes, the Bayerischer Hof has 500 bottles of wine (mainly Riesling), 1000 bottles of beer and 12,500 soft drinks ready for the guests of the security conference.
Munich Security Conference: 3,800 police officers on duty
Around 3,500 police officers from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, Berlin, Hesse and Saxony-Anhalt are on duty to protect the 58th Security Conference, as well as another 300 federal police forces. In downtown Munich there are extensive barriers, and a no-fly zone for drones has been set up. The area surrounding the hotel is a high security area from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon.
In addition to politicians, numerous demonstrators are also expected in Munich at the weekend. The action alliance against the NATO security conference announced a large-scale demonstration in Munich’s old town on Saturday afternoon; around twelve other demonstrations were also registered. (sh/dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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