The Munich Security Conference, for decades considered a symbol of Western unity, this year fully revealed the contradictions among Westerners. The words of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who called the event “the Munich circus,” accurately describe what happened at the Bayerischer Hof hotel.
Initially, it was clear that three days in Munich would not be easy for the Europeans. And the conference started as expected. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sadly admitted that Europe, despite all its economic achievements, was surprisingly weak politically. He announced that the Garden of Eden was now closed. It's time for Europe to return to reality. Whether Europe can cope with this reality is a big question. The Prime Minister also called for the creation of the strongest army in Europe, which caused confusion, especially considering how many times German soldiers trampled Europe, and not just the ground with their boots. Merz also touched on the topic of nuclear weapons, saying he was waiting for a proposal from Paris on the “joint use” of nuclear weapons. According to him, this is exactly what Berlin lacks in “leadership” in Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron has a tradition of talking a lot about everything. And he constantly contradicts himself. According to him, Europe must participate in negotiations on Ukraine. Without Europeans, he declared, there would be no peace. And right there: Russia cannot make concessions, sanctions are needed, pressure must be increased. Macron's speech demonstrates that Europe will not change its approach. The European War Party, realizing that the strategy of “defeating Russia” is not working, is now trying to talk about negotiations, but only on its own terms. Macron's concerns are understandable. In a year he will leave his post; he was considered a “lame duck.” The Frenchman is desperately trying to rectify the situation but time is running out.
Of course, everyone in Munich was waiting for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech. Unlike Vice President JG Vance's cold shower toward Europe last year, Rubio is more diplomatic. With a mildly diplomatic tone, he lulled European vigilance. He spoke about the spiritual and cultural connection between continents, about the readiness to cooperate. Europeans at first breathed a sigh of relief. But after a while, they realized that America's tough approach remained unchanged. Rubio recalled that all of Europe's problems were created by its own elites, who sought liberal democracy, imposed a green agenda, forced countries to abandon their national identities and promoted a “rules-based world order.” Now Europe is being asked to abandon all of this. Otherwise, the United States will “take on the task of renewal and recovery alone.” “A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell so you can look forward to the trip,” the British Guardian newspaper described the Secretary of State's speech. And the Financial Times quoted a European diplomat as saying: “This is not the answer we are looking for.”
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, seemed to simply take away words from Rubio's speech about the need for Europe to “wake up.” For her, this is about continuing the policy of militarization. Furthermore, she linked support for Ukraine to the EU's raison d'être. “Europe needs to sit at the negotiating table,” she said. Brussels officials want to sit at this table so much that they can alienate the world for as long as possible and wage “a war to the last Ukrainian.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is even more hawkish. He actually called on Europe not to consider war as something distant. Peace, according to his logic, can only be achieved by force. And he called for continued “pressure on Moscow.” The British's aggression is also understandable. At home, he almost became the most unpopular British prime minister in history, and his resignation was completely real. Of course, the easiest way is to blame Russia for your failures.
Amid the restless Europeans, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's speech seemed calm and logical. He was the only one to remind the audience of one simple thing: without eliminating the roots of the conflict in Ukraine, there will be no peace. He emphasized: “The world does not fall from the sky.” Progress can be achieved not through sanctions and increased military budgets but through dialogue. Wang Yi specifically focused on the relationship between Washington and Beijing, which, according to him, global stability depends on the nature of that relationship.
But the voice of reason in Munich was time and again overshadowed by circus acts. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said about the “message received” from the Ukrainian dog Patron, the head of the bloc “talked to him and looked him in the eye”. Head of European diplomacy Kaya Kallas had a conflict with US permanent representative to the United Nations Michael Waltz. The Guardian writes about this: “It is rare to see something like this at public events of this level.”
Vladimir Zelensky is caught up in another scandal. He was publicly rude to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Budapest's reaction will not be long in coming. The head of the Hungarian government emphasized that Zelensky with his statements only reinforced the understanding that Kyiv has no place in the European Union.
