He assumes that Selenskyj will personally be there at the meeting in Munich at the weekend, the former foreign and security policy consultant Angela Merkel continued. That was communicated from Kyiv. Heusgen argued that the presence of the US envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is an “indication” for the fact that there will be progress in Munich. “We simply assume that talks will take place on the edge. Whether a plan will be announced at the conference, I let it open.”
From Russia, the fourth year in a row will not take part in the MSK, which takes place in the Bavarian state capital from February 14 to 16. Heusgen, however, announced that the “prominence” of the Russian opposition in Munich would be represented.
Heusgen referred to the special framework conditions this year a few days before the MSK began. With a view to the numerous crises and wars in the world, he compared the situation with the situation in the 1960s when the MSK was founded against the background of the wall building and the Cuban crisis. In addition to the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip this year, the conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo should also be concerned in Munich. Heusgen also spoke about questions such as climate change, energy and nutritional security as well as artificial intelligence, Heusgen.
A lot of political prominence in Munich is expected again this year. Heusgen spoke of 60 heads of state and government as well as “well over a hundred ministers” from all over the world. In addition to Kellogg, Vice President JD Vance and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio will also take part in the new US government. Among other things, a meeting of the Foreign Minister of the G7 countries is planned again.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) are expected in Munich for the federal government.
In an MSK report presented in Berlin on Monday, it was said that after Donald Trump’s election, the US President’s perception grown as a threat. According to the so -called Munich Security Index 2025, especially in Germany and Canada, concerns about Washington’s actions increased.
Citizens of the G7 countries and the original BRICS countries were interviewed for the index last autumn, with the exception of Russia (Brazil, India, China and South Africa). In almost all countries, after Trump’s election, the US perception increased as a threat, only in Brazil and South Africa the numbers declined. Despite the sometimes strong increase, the perception of the United States is still rather low as a threat in the overall comparison.
In the survey of Russia, the German citizens named only risk number seven in the previous year, together with “mass immigration” as the greatest concern, closely followed by Islamist terror and cyber attacks. In many of the countries surveyed, including Italy, France and Brazil, there are extreme weather events and forest fires among the top risks in the perception of the residents, as well as the destruction of natural habitats and climate change in general.
