17/2/2023–|Last updated: 2/17/202306:57 PM (Makkah Al-Mukarramah)
The Munich Security Conference kicked off today, Friday, in Bavaria, southern Germany, and its actions are dominated by the war in Ukraine and its economic repercussions, while speculation prevails about the possibility of holding US-Chinese talks on the sidelines of the meeting to ease tensions between the two countries following the Chinese spy balloon incident that was recently shot down by the US army.
The annual high-level gathering – which lasts 3 days – hosts representatives from 96 countries, including many heads of state and government.
The conference will be held a week before the first anniversary of the war that Russia started against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at the opening of the conference via videoconference, and while Ukraine is represented by its Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Russia was not invited to this annual meeting, knowing that its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was participating in it regularly.
This year’s conference mainly discusses the war on Ukraine, and delegates will discuss the long-term global repercussions of the war on energy supplies and food prices.
The United States is represented by Kamala Harris, US Vice President, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg will also attend the meeting.
According to Archyde.com, the Russian-Ukrainian war will reignite debates that have been going on for a long time on questions such as: To what extent should Europe strengthen its military capabilities? And to what extent should it rely on the United States for its security? How much should governments spend on defence?
Ukraine and joint defense
At the opening of the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and French President Emmanuel Macron devoted an important part of their interventions to talking about the war in Ukraine and the need to strengthen European defense.
Schultz said that his country provides Ukraine with the latest weapons and ammunition more than any other European country, adding that Berlin will continue to work to achieve a balance between supporting Ukraine and preventing the outbreak of war with Russia. The German chancellor also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin must realize that Europe is now more united than ever.
For his part, the French president said that support should be increased for Ukraine to enable it to withstand and launch a counterattack that would allow it to enter into a credible negotiation.
Macron added that the Western allies are ready for a long-term conflict in Ukraine, stressing that “now is not the time for dialogue or negotiation, as Russia has chosen war and must be confronted.”
The French President called on the Europeans, the Americans, and the G27 to invest more in the field of defense, and called for dialogue with partners to strengthen French and European deterrence.
In his video intervention, the Ukrainian president warned that Ukraine would not be the last stop for what he described as the Russian invasion of his country, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would attack other countries that were part of the former Soviet Union.
Zelensky stressed that there should be no arms embargo to his country, saying that it is time for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union and NATO.