For three days, 40 heads of state and government and almost 100 ministers discussed the world situation at the Munich Security Conference. The overriding theme of the annual meeting this time was the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the question of how to end it.
"Junge Welt" (Berlin): "The Munich meeting offered a lot of informative visual material about the state of the "free world". The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Kubrakow demanded that his country be supplied with internationally banned cluster and phosphorus bombs. Conventions or not, go here After all, it is about "own country" that should be shelled with it, and a population that Kiev claims as its own on the one hand, but treats it as hostile on the other - as was the case with the frequent shelling of Donetsk and other cities in the Donbass in the past "Cluster munitions. It doesn't matter if butterfly mines rip off the limbs of children who think they're toys. Ukraine hasn't even signed the relevant treaties, added Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba. Great."
"Schwäbische Zeitung" (Ravensburg): "NATO is stronger than Putin expected, and Ukraine must win the war, was the mantra of the event. But for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, another currency counts: battle tanks and ammunition, which actually be delivered, money to keep the country's infrastructure running. If these processes were to speed up and fighter jets were added, the conference would be a success for him. But it doesn't look like it. But Ukraine also has to be careful where it goes it moves: Whoever expresses the desire for internationally banned cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs runs the risk of aligning themselves with the aggressor on this point."
"Weser-Kurier" (Bremen): "Anyone who expected more from the Munich Security Conference than many discussions is a dreamer. But anyone who has listened carefully has heard NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg say that for the world, certainly for Europe, the greatest risk is when Putin wins'. For China, however, Putin's defeat is not an option. And so the only plus of the Munich Security Conference is: it's better to talk a lot than remain silent."
"Heilbronner Voice": "After Munich, the world has become even more insecure. Because the key to ending the war lies in the Kremlin. As long as Putin commits one war crime after the other, freezing the status quo in Ukraine is unthinkable . Especially since the Ukrainian President will never relinquish his territorial sovereignty. So death and suffering will continue, with more and more brutal weapons. The bitterness after a security conference that was more of a war conference is that nobody has the slightest idea how to actually stop dying."
"Badische Zeitung" (Freiburg): "For the time being, the West will continue to rely on unity and determination. The Ukrainians will be supported in their fight against the Russian invasion, as much and as long as necessary, is the formula. US Vice President Kamala Harris has This is impressively justified with a moral and a strategic interest: moral, because aggression and the most serious war crimes must be atoned for, strategic, because it is (...) a fundamental question for all states, whether a stronger country should forcibly annex areas of a weaker neighbour There would then no longer be security for anyone, peace would be endangered everywhere. One would like to hear the chancellor so clearly."
"Leipziger Volkszeitung": "Western democracies have to fight for their values. Because their system of freedom, equality and the rule of law is known to be the most vulnerable of all forms of government. Autocrats and dictators know that only too well. Now they sense their chance. At the Munich Security Conference, this power struggle and at the same time a weakness of Europe because of the cracked Franco-German axis and the lack of trust in Eastern European states in Berlin became clear.And the USA proved to be less powerful with an emotional but uninspiring speech by Vice President Kamala Harris. Beijing has stepped into this gap to announce a peace plan for Ukraine."
"Stuttgarter Nachrichten": "Germany must also prepare itself better for the future for selfish motives. The great transatlantic cooperation could already be over after the next US presidential election - even if it was emphasized at the security conference in Munich that the Republicans in the "The United States fully supports its commitment to Ukraine. The United States remains a divided country. The gloomy years of Donald Trump's presidency have shown that Europe must at least always be prepared for the worst-case scenario of an unpredictable populist there reigns."
