Munich Security Conference to discuss Ukraine war, without Russia's participation

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - This year’s Munich Security Conference will dwell on the ongoing Moscow-Kyiv war, however, Russian government officials will not be invited, the chairman of the event has said.

We decided not to invite Russian government representatives as long as President Vladimir Putin “negates Ukraine’s right to exist,” Christoph Heusgen told members of the foreign press association in Berlin.

“We don't want to set the stage for (Russian Foreign Minister) Sergey Lavrov’s propaganda,” he added.

Heusgen did point out, however, that Russian opposition figures were invited to the conference, including ex-oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, and Yulia Navalnaya​​​​​​​, the wife of the imprisoned opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

The high-profile security meeting will take place in the southern German city on Feb. 17-19, only a few days before the anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Last year, Moscow chose not to send a representative in the first no-show in many years.

Heusgen, former Chancellor Angela Merkel's foreign policy adviser, said the three-day event will “take stock” of the war in Ukraine.

A total of around 40 heads of state and government, more than 90 ministers, and several heads of international organizations are expected in Munich.

These include US Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.