Global leaders gather in Germany for the 62nd Munich Security Conference

The 62nd Munich Security Conference opened on Friday, bringing together more than one thousand participants, including some sixty heads of state and government and a slew of other prominent figures in the world of politics. The traditional three-day conference is an opportunity for global leaders to engage in dialogue on the pressing issues of international security policy.

Prior to departing for Munich US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that this year's conference comes as the international order has undergone radical changes, a breakdown in transatlantic relations and the escalation of conflicts around the world: “The world is changing very fast, right in front of us. The old world is gone frankly, the world I grew up in. And we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it's going to require all of us to, sort of, re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be, and we've had many of these conversations in private with many of our allies, and they are our allies. And we need to continue to have these conversations and I think Saturday, hopefully, and the meetings we'll have there will move us in that direction.”

Rubio also commented on whether he had any plans to discuss US designs on Greenland in Munich: “Oh, I'm sure someone will raise it, you know. We're working on that and we feel good about it.”

For her part Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the issue regarding Greenland was part of a broader change on the geopolitical roadmap that started long before the Munich Conference: “This fateful upheaval did not start today, it has been going on for some time now. The Americans were very clear - from Trump's inauguration speech to the new security strategy and the new defense strategy. Well, the threats to Greenland all point in the same direction, namely that the USA is unfortunately moving away from Europe. This has been going on for some time and we will have to face the consequences of this change.”

Secretary of State Rubio was also asked if he would be meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Security Conference: “I think so, I think he's going to be there and there's a chance to see him. I believe it's on my schedule. I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I'm sure we will.”

And while the US is showing little interest in Ukraine, in spite of its role in starting the conflict, the remaining members of the NATO alliance, especially those within the European Union, appear committed to prolonging the conflict.

“There is widespread support that we have to continue to support Ukraine, and also widespread understanding that we still need to do more for Ukraine. But also an understanding on Ukraine that the Russians are reaping up staggering losses day-in-day-out, thirty-five thousand dead in December, thirty thousand dead in January, so where they want to be perceived, the Russians, as a mighty bear, you could argue that they are moving through Ukraine at the stilted speed of a garden snail. And let's not forget that. Let's not fall in the trap of the Russian propaganda,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the onetime German Defense Minister whose mandate was mired by corruption scandals, commented on calls for Washington and increasingly from within the union itself, for Europe to take a more pro-active role in its defense: “It has been said for years that Europe must do more for defense. And that is true - Europe must become more independent and take action, because strong defense means a strong Europe and a strong NATO. This is precisely the mentality that I brought to the European Union, and last year we did more for defense in Europe than in the previous decade.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented on the unipolar moment and China's role in the international power struggle: “China now lays claim to global leadership. It laid the foundations for this with years of strategic patience. In the foreseeable future, Beijing could become militarily equal to the USA. China systematically exploits the dependencies of others, and reinterprets the international order in her own interests. If there was a unipolar moment in history after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has long since disappeared. In any case, American leadership has been brought into question, and may have already passed.”

Representing Croatia at the Munich Security Conference is Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who will participate in discussions on the Three Seas Initiative, trans-Atlantic energy security, cooperation in the Mediterranean, Ukraine, and the protection of so-called European values. He is also expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings. Of particular note is a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which will be the highest-level meeting with a member of the US administration since President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ivan Anušić is also participating in the Munich Security Conference, and is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the conference, including a trilateral meeting with his Albanian and Kosovar counterparts. Here’s how he commented on his expectations from the conference: “European leaders are slowly presenting their positions, which are more concrete and more realistic this time. These are positions that favor the defense and security of all of Europe and the entire European continent. Things are obviously changing on a global level. Croatia is here in Munich, the Prime Minister is here, and we are simply trying to find out everything we need to know and to be involved in all the developments, to understand these new situations and circumstances.”

Source: HRT