United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to open the 60th Munich Security Conference at a critical time as the United States presidential election campaign heats up.
Leading politicians, military officers and diplomats from around the world gathered on Friday, February 16, for a conference that will be dominated by the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, as well as fears about the US commitment to the defense of allies. One of the important questions is that of the large package of American military aid to Ukraine, which is pending in the US House of Representatives.
In addition to Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the top officials attending the conference, an annual global gathering focused on defense and diplomacy.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Staeh are also expected to attend the conference, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday at the luxury Bayerischer Hof hotel in the southern German city.
The conference is being held as the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the US and EU have designated as a terrorist organization, in which more than 28.000 Palestinians and some 1.430 Israelis have been killed, enters its fifth month without end.
It also takes place shortly before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year.
Both wars have fueled fears of possible regional spillovers, which are likely to be discussed in Munich.
"The world has become more dangerous," Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO's western defense alliance, told Reuters on Wednesday.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said officials from European countries that help fund the occupied Palestinian territories and key Arab and Gulf states would meet on the sidelines of the Munich event to begin discussions on the future of Israel and the Palestinian people after a potential ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to join.
"There are a lot of things we have to start talking about now," Cameron said in an address to Britain's House of Lords. "Whether it's the question of how to offer a political horizon to the people of the Palestinian territories, or indeed, how do we deal with the very real security concerns of Israel."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he will set foot on German soil for the first time to deliver a keynote address at the conference, after refraining from attending because he grew up in a family of Holocaust survivors.
"I will do everything for the security of Israel, to secure our future and to return the hostages," he said.
Ukraine is asking for help
Zelenskiy is expected to push for more support for Ukraine as the US House of Representatives delays a multibillion-dollar military aid package for the country.
"The stakes couldn't be higher," said one senior State Department official, saying the delay was already being felt on the battlefield. "Our support is absolutely essential in achieving the goals that Ukraine has."
European and American officials are increasingly warning of the risk that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack other countries if his military operation in Ukraine is successful.
"It is clear that Putin will not stop at Ukraine," said another US State Department official.
Not a single Russian official was invited to MBK, for the second year in a row, because they did not seem interested in meaningful dialogue, organizers said.
The event comes at a time when the US's commitment to the defense of its allies is more broadly in question, as the re-election of former President Donald Trump looms.
Such concerns have reignited the drive in Europe for greater strategic autonomy. Until recently, the idea was championed by only a few countries, notably France, but it is gaining traction and is likely to be discussed at the security meeting.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, suggested last Saturday that he would not defend NATO allies who did not spend enough on defense, prompting consternation in Europe.
On Friday, Harris is scheduled to deliver what aides have described as a major speech on "the importance of fulfilling the US' role as global leadership" before meeting with US lawmakers Zelensky and Scholz.
Harris is also likely to be scrutinized for her ability to lead after a Justice Department special counsel report last week described US President Joe Biden, 81, as an elderly man with a "poor memory". Trump is 77 years old.
Other major international issues will also be featured at the conference, such as conflicts in the Horn of Africa that are increasing food insecurity and displacing millions, and relations between the West and China.
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