Senior political figures have convened to discuss the Ukraine crisis and other issues at the annual meeting
Security measures are conducted by police in front of Hotel Bayerischer Hof ahead of the Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2025 in Germany. © Getty Images / Johannes Simon
The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) has officially begun at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, Germany, bringing together senior politicians, analysts, Western media, and security experts to discuss global issues, with a significant focus on the conflict in Ukraine.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to open the event, setting the stage for the three-day gathering.
No Russian officials were invited to the event, the site of President Vladimir Putin’s famous 2007 speech, where he warned against NATO expansion.
US President Donald Trump however announced on Thursday that American and Russian officials would meet on the sidelines of the event in Munich on Friday, with Ukraine also invited to participate. Vladimir Zelensky has stated that he does not expect to hold talks with any Russian delegation.
This year’s MSC comes in the first days of Trump’s administration and ahead of a crucial general election in Germany on February 23.
Key attendees include US Vice President J.D. Vance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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14 February 2025
13:54 GMT
“Let’s not be a deer caught in the headlights,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged European leaders in light of the recent wave of changes made by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking following a meeting with US Vice President J.D. Vance, Steinmeier said the Trump administration has “no regard for established rules” and that the US leader has a “very different world view to ours.”
“We cannot change that. We have to accept that and we can deal with it,” Steinmeier added, stressing that “we must not allow ourselves to be paralyzed” by the wave of new policy announcements from Washington.
- 13:30 GMT
Berlin “got the message” that it has to increase its defense spending, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday after meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, Reuters has reported.
Vance had previously stressed the US expects Europe to play a bigger role in ensuring its own security. Steinmeier said that Germany has already “massively increased its security spending” and recognizes Washington’s requirement that all European NATO members increase their defense spending beyond 2% of GDP.
“We got the message,” he said. “The 2% target… dates from a different time, a different threat situation. A decade later, we will have to spend significantly more than we agreed back then,” Steinmeier added. He also noted the shifts would include a reduction of US troops in Europe.
- 13:29 GMT
There can be no normal cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has told US Vice President J.D. Vance during a meeting at the Munich Security Conference, according to Reuters.
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Trump adviser hails US-Russia “friendship”The German diplomat also reportedly spoke out against establishing a “sham peace” in Ukraine, claiming that it would lead to further aggression and weaken the US.
- 13:02 GMT
Europe will have to step up in ensuring its own security in the future, US Vice President JD Vance has said in a meeting with German officials at the conference.
“Europe is a very important ally for the US, but we also believe it is important to recognize that in the future, Europe is going to have to take a bigger role in its own security,” Vance said, noting that Germany, being the EU’s leading economy, will have a major role to play.
- 12:55 GMT
Taking Ukraine’s NATO membership off the table is a “mistake,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said at the Munich Security Conference. His comments came in response to US President Donald Trump claiming earlier this week that Kiev’s membership in the bloc would not be part of any peace deal with Russia.
“I think it was clumsy,” Pistorius said, suggesting that the issue of Ukraine’s membership in NATO as well as territorial concessions to Russia should have been discussed at the negotiating table.
- 12:42 GMT
NATO membership for Ukraine has never been tied to any sort of peace deal, the bloc’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, has said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Asked to reaffirm NATO’s commitment to support Ukraine on its path towards membership, Rutte emphasized that the priority right now is to establish “a peace deal that is lasting.” He claimed that no one has ever said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO should be part of a peace deal, stressing that this has “never been promised.”
- 12:26 GMT
Ukrainian allegations that Russia attacked the Chernobyl nuclear power plant are a provocation by Kiev ahead of the Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed.
She suggested that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky couldn’t allow himself to come to Munich with empty hands, alleging that Kiev always needs some sort of “toy rattle” to distract the participants of international conferences.
Zakharova pointed out that Moscow has repeatedly warned that Kiev would commit attacks and stage various provocations at nuclear facilities in order to garner international support and lobby for more weapons and money.
The spokeswoman claimed that “there can be no doubt” that Kiev’s latest accusations of a Russian attack on Chernobyl are yet another example of this behavior.
- 12:16 GMT
Ahead of the conference on Friday, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed that a Russian drone had attacked the containment structure of the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant, saying it resulted in “significant damage.”
Moscow has vehemently denied the charge, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressing that any reports about Russia targeting nuclear facilities are false. He said that there has been no verifiable information about an attack on the plant and suggested that it was simply a provocation by Kiev.
- 12:03 GMT
A planned meeting between Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and US Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference has been postponed, according to media sources. The delay is reportedly due to the US requiring additional time to finalize a proposed agreement on critical minerals.
US President Donald Trump recently called for Ukraine to provide “the equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” in return for the “more than $300 billion” in aid sent to Kiev by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump stated that he had a phone conversation with Zelensky earlier that day and claimed Kiev had agreed to his demands.
- 12:02 GMT
Security measures have been heightened in Munich as the city prepares to host a major security conference, just a day after a car driven by an Afghan immigrant plowed into a crowd of trade union protesters, injuring at least 36 people.
Bavarian police announced in a press conference that, while the attack was not linked to the conference, authorities have decided to increase police presence across the city as a precaution. Officers from various regions of Germany have been deployed to support local forces.
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