Written by Sarah Marsh and Humaira Pamuk
BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) – Leading politicians, military and diplomats from around the world will gather in Munich on Friday for a security conference that will focus on the wars in Israel and Ukraine and the U.S. commitment to protect its allies. Concerns about efforts will likely become mainstream. .
german chancellor Olaf ScholzUS Vice President Kamala Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are among senior government officials attending the Munich Security Conference (MSC), an annual global gathering focused on defense and foreign affairs.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayeh The conference began on Friday and will run until Sunday at the Bayerischer Hof, a luxury hotel in southern Germany.
The meeting took place amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians and about 1,430 Israelis and continues to grow with no end in sight. We are entering the month.
It also happened just before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine entered its third year.
Both wars raise concerns about possible regional spillover and are likely to be dealt with in Munich.
“The world has become more dangerous.” Jens Stoltenbergthe secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Western Defense Alliance told Reuters on Wednesday.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron spoke on the sidelines of an event in Munich where officials from European countries that help finance the Occupied Palestinian Territories and major Arab and Gulf states met on the sidelines of an event in Munich to discuss a potential cease-fire in Israel. He said he planned to discuss the future of the Palestinian people.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to participate.
“There are a lot of things we need to start talking about now,” Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech to the House of Lords. “Whether it's about this issue of how to provide political prospects for the people of the Palestinian territories or how we address the very real security concerns of Israel. Even if it’s about something like that.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said he would set foot on German soil for the first time to give a keynote address at the conference, although he had previously refrained from doing so because he grew up in a family of Holocaust survivors.
“I will do everything to ensure Israel's security, our future and return the hostages,” he said.
Ukraine aid bill faces hurdles
Zelenskyy is expected to appeal for more aid to Ukraine as the US House of Representatives stalls a multibillion-dollar military aid plan.
“The stakes couldn't be higher,” said one senior State Department official, adding that delays are already being felt on the battlefield. “Our support is absolutely essential if Ukraine is to achieve its stated objectives.”
European and U.S. officials are increasingly warning of the risk that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack other countries if the military operation in Ukraine is successful.
“It's clear that President Putin is not stopping at Ukraine,” said another US State Department official.
Organizers said Russian officials appeared uninterested in meaningful dialogue and were not invited to the MSC for the second year in a row.
Trump casts a shadow
The event comes as former President Donald Trump's re-election prospects loom and the U.S. commitment to defending its allies more broadly comes into question.
These concerns have led to renewed calls for greater strategic autonomy in Europe. Until recently, only a few countries, including France, supported the idea, but it is gaining momentum and is likely to be taken up at security gatherings.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, shocked Europe last Saturday by suggesting he would not protect NATO allies who do not spend enough on defense.
Harris delivered what aides said was a huge speech on “the importance of America's role as a world leader” on Friday before meeting with Zelensky, Scholz and US lawmakers. I plan to do it.
Harris' leadership skills are also likely to be in the spotlight after a Justice Department special counsel report last week described US President Joe Biden, 81, as an elderly man with “poor memory.” Mr. Trump is 77 years old.
The conference will also address other major international issues, including rising food insecurity due to conflict in the Horn of Africa, millions of people displaced, and relations between the West and China.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin, Humaira Pamuk in Munich, Andrew Gray in Brussels, William James in London and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Matthias Williams and Sharon Singleton)
