The Munich Security Conference, which for a long time only discussed the sustainable international order established under the leadership of the United States after World War II, will reflect political instability in America this year. As UNN reports, AR writes about this in an article prepared on the eve of the conference.
Details
The conference, which starts on Friday, will take place against the backdrop of threats by former US President and presidential candidate Donald Trump not to defend European allies in the event of an attack by russia. There is also growing concern among allies about whether the United States will be able to continue to provide billions of dollars in defense aid to Ukraine.
In addition, the conference participants, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, will arrive with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House of Representatives.
With participants including Harris and Blinken expected to praise American leadership, the conference will be filled with questions about the unprecedented challenges to the global rules and norms it has championed over its 60-year existence. And overshadowing all of this will be Trump's threat not to automatically come to the defense of European allies if they are attacked by Russia. This is a cornerstone of NATO's founding treaty, which has taken on added significance in the wake of a full-scale russian attack on Ukraine in 2022.
Bloomberg: Трамп у разі переобрання підштовхуватиме Україну до переговорів15.02.24, 03:07
The publication writes that the events in Ukraine and Gaza, combined with Trump's comments, mean that the event may be overshadowed by the unwelcome ghosts of Munich's past - authoritarianism, appeasement, and anti-Semitism - instead of demonstrating an optimistic view of the future.
On Wednesday, the White House said Harris would use his speech in Munich to emphasize that the Biden administration is firmly committed to NATO, in stark contrast to Trump. Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that the alliance is "stronger and more vital than at any time in the last 75 years, with Finland just joining and Sweden about to join." He also noted that since Biden took office, the alliance has grown from nine members who were meeting their commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defenseto 18 this month.
Blinken will also convey this message in Munich, according to the top U.S. diplomat in Europe, James O'Brien. O'Brien told reporters that the Democratic and Republican administrations "see NATO as the foundation of our security, certainly in Europe, but increasingly as a global partner.
Голова Мюнхенської конференції з безпеки закликав до більшої відповідальності Європи07.02.24, 15:51
However, European leaders and NATO officials remain concerned.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Trump's comments. He stated that "any relativization of NATO's support guarantees is irresponsible and dangerous and only serves the interests of russia," and said that "no one can play or 'bargain' with Europe's security.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that comments such as Trump's call call into question the credibility of NATO's collective security commitment - Article 5 of the organization's founding treaty, which states that an attack on any member state will be met by all.
Наразі немає безпосередньої військової загрози жодному з союзників НАТО - Столтенберг14.02.24, 14:21