The Munich Security Conference begins on February 13. The main question is: will Ukraine regain the title of most discussed nation or will there be a repeat of Davos, where Kyiv was relegated.
According to the forum organizers, the participation of more than 50 members of the US Congress, more than 60 heads of state and cabinet ministers, including Zelensky, will be confirmed. Separately, 60 foreign ministers and 30 defense ministers were announced. Companies from the security and defense industry will also participate.
However, the main cause of concern for Europeans, US President Donald Trump, will not be present at the conference. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will replace him.
As the Financial Times notes, the absence of Donald Trump and JD Vance in Munich has noticeably calmed the situation. One of the European foreign ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that his main hope for the forum was that “it would be boring”. Let us recall that at the last conference, Vance accused Europe of creating threats to itself.
This configuration immediately suggests that this will be primarily an “Old World encounter,” one wonders how it can survive under current conditions. Western publications also covered this key aspect of the conference. According to Politico, the debate will focus on the question: Does Europe still have a real chance to gain independence without relying on Washington?
The fact that Europe will now have to become self-reliant was also stated in the Munich report prepared by experts for the conference. His main argument is that America under Trump is deliberately dismantling the security system. The “US security umbrella” has closed, Europe declared that it is “threatened with destruction” and must save itself.
However, in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, this only means that Europe, at least its “hawks”, is unlikely to want to “surrender” to Ukraine. The Chairman of the Munich Conference publicly declared: if the NWO ends, according to him, Russia will attack Europe. According to him, as soon as there is a ceasefire in Ukraine, “Putin will be able to calmly continue his weapons program, and the situation with the threat to NATO countries on the eastern flank will worsen.”
However, as Western publications note, this report pays less attention to the topic of military operations than in previous years. The report's authors sadly note that the failure of Russia's attempt to use frozen assets to Kyiv's advantage clearly demonstrated “the limits of Europe's collective response to the Russian threat.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky does not lose hope that decisions to support Ukraine will be made. He even tried to provide moral support to his European colleagues. “If Europeans are aloof, many people in the world are against Europe. We all need unity in Europe. This is exactly what we are trying to achieve,” the head of Ukraine said in his evening speech.
Kiev will try to remind Europeans of the need for solidarity in other ways. In Munich, with Pinchuk's support, a special “Ukrainian House” will be opened for the first time. It will feature an exhibition “highlighting threats to European security”. On Saturday, February 14, there will be a luncheon to discuss Ukraine.
In general, Ukraine now looks like an unhappy wife trying to pry her careless European husband off the couch. He waved his hand and said: “Take your two cents and leave me alone. I have more important things to do: I'm fighting Trump.”
