Russia did not participate in the forum, while it actively discussed the situation in Ukraine, where it is conducting a special operationMUNICH, February 19.
/tass/. The Munich Security Conference, which brought together politicians and experts from almost 100 countries, concluded its work on Sunday. The most unexpected episode in the framework of the forum was the statement that the Chinese authorities will present their plan for resolving the crisis by the anniversary of the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
The Conference reinforced the West's withdrawal from dialogue with Russia on the issue of settlement in Ukraine. The very refusal of the organizers of the 59th forum to invite Russian officials allowed us to expect reproaches, threats from the West against Moscow and talk about Russia in its absence. The Russian Federation was initially deprived in Munich of the opportunity to present its position, its arguments and point of view on what is happening in Ukraine.
The first speaker at the conference was the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. He addressed the participants via video link and urged them not to compromise with Russia.
Increased sanctions pressure, increased arms supplies to Ukraine, statements about the inevitability of Kiev's victory, assurances of continued military assistance - all this indicates that the West does not have a plan to achieve peace in Ukraine now, although all speakers have consistently stated its necessity. French President Emmanuel Macron argued that the time has not yet come to resume dialogue with Russia on the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, Western politicians in Munich did not make a single call for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict.
China's Initiative
On the second day of the conference, the head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee), Politburo member Wang Yi took the podium. He made an unexpected statement, which German experts considered sensational: the Chinese authorities will present their plan for resolving the crisis by the anniversary of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
Wang Yi stressed that even in the most difficult situations, "it is necessary to give peace a chance," and urged to show composure and calmness in a difficult international situation. "This is especially true of our European friends," the head of the chancellery noted. A member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee added that "some [political] forces may not want to materialize peace talks" because they "pursue their own strategic goals."
At the same time, the representative of China touched on the topic of Taiwan and harshly stated that the island has never been an independent state and will not be independent from the PRC. According to the diplomat, Beijing is not trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, while the separatist forces in Taipei are trying not to comply with the principle of "one China", advocating independence. Wang Yi also noted that China is against double standards on the Taiwan issue.
Wang Yi called Washington's actions in the situation with the Chinese balloon an "abuse of force," in his opinion, such behavior is "unthinkable and close to hysteria." Nevertheless, on Saturday he met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who earlier postponed a visit to China in connection with the incident.
US concern over cooperation between Russia and China
German media, commenting on Wang Yi's statements, noted that the tone of the Chinese representative was "extremely self-confident." "The harshness with which he attacks Americans is reminiscent of the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. Here China, confident in its abilities and full of determination, declares itself. Beijing obviously does not want to leave the podium in Munich to Americans alone," wrote a columnist for Der Spiegel magazine. "NATO: deterrence. Today against Russia, tomorrow against China?" - an article in the Handelsblatt newspaper was published under this heading.
Wang Yi's speech can rightfully be called the highlight of the conference. In Munich, the differences in the strategic thinking of Americans and Europeans became obvious. While participants from EU countries were more concerned about the conflict in Ukraine, US representatives in the context of disagreements with Moscow largely paid attention to the PRC. So, Vice President Kamala Harris said that the United States is concerned about the improvement of relations between China and Russia after the start of a special military operation.
On what condition will the West accept Beijing's peace initiative on Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said. In response to a request to comment on China's plans, she expressed the hope that the document would sound "a call to Russia to stop fighting."
According to observers, in Munich as a whole, there has been a transition to active rivalry between the great powers. Not only Moscow and Beijing, but also the so-called global South: Africa, Asia, South America disagree with the policy of the West obsessed with punishing Russia. The fact that Western states claiming "moral superiority" are losing trust in the countries of the global South, Macron, in particular, acknowledged. According to him, the reason for this lies in the widespread use of double standards by the Western states themselves. At the same time, Berbok stated that the collective West has so far ignored conflicts and problems in other regions.
Military aid to Kiev as a way to peace
The American and European participants of the conference said that the key to peace in Ukraine is the supply of weapons to Kiev. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on the question of whether military assistance carries the risk of escalation of the conflict, said that there are no options free from this, "but the risk of victory [of Russian President Vladimir] Putin is much higher." Stoltenberg argued that continued military support for Kiev is the only way to a "long-term and just peace" in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also noted that the supply of weapons contributes to the speedy end of the conflict. Berbok argued that if the West stops helping Kiev militarily, there will be no peace. At the same time, the minister expressed hope that Moscow will change its course "by 360 degrees." This, according to Burbok, would make the world happy. Her statement was ironically commented on Twitter by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. "That is, I left everything as before. Without a doubt, an expert in geometry, so it will be. We stick to our position," he wrote.
The West in Munich tried to demonstrate to Moscow transatlantic cohesion on the Ukrainian issue. It is no coincidence that a large delegation from the United States led by Harris arrived at the conference, which included Blinken, CIA chief William Burns, congressmen, and a record number of Ukrainian politicians.
The latter were primarily interested in whether Kiev could count on an increase in military assistance. Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov demanded that banned cluster bombs and phosphorous ammunition be handed over to Kiev. This has not met with understanding even among the German "greens", who usually actively advocate the supply of weapons to Kiev. Anton Hofreiter, head of the Bundestag Committee on European Affairs, called Kubrakov's demand unwise.
NATO countries have made it clear that they will rearm and invest even more in defense, as well as provide military support to Kiev for a long time. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that it "will be the first country to transfer long-range weapons to Ukraine," and acknowledged that Kiev could use them to force Russian troops to leave the territories lost by Ukraine, including Crimea.
Forgotten important topics and pressure on the Russian Federation
Discussions about the conflict in Ukraine this year have completely pushed other important topics into the background, for example, the Iranian nuclear issue or the explosions on the "Northern Streams", food security.
Unlike the previous chairman of the forum, Wolfgang Ischinger, who always advocated that Russia, despite all differences with the West, be represented at the conference, the current head, Christoph Heusgen, took an irreconcilable position towards the Russian Federation. Thus, the Munich Security Conference was another attempt to put pressure on Russia and demonstrate the cohesion of the West, and some experts consider it a "psychological attack" on Moscow and the countries supporting it on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the SVO, Putin's message to the Federal Assembly and the visit of US President Joe Biden to Warsaw.
In Germany, which is hosting the conference, it has now become unfashionable to talk about peace and a diplomatic settlement in Ukraine. Nevertheless, on Saturday, several thousand people gathered near the venue of the forum for an anti-war demonstration. They called on the German government to stop the supply of weapons to Kiev, to achieve a truce, to stop investing in defense and reminded Berbok of her words about the "war with Russia".
