No Russian government representatives expected in Munich

Munich Security Conference

No Russian government representatives expected in Munich

After four years of war, Russia and Ukraine are sitting at the same table again – in Abu Dhabi. However, there will probably be no clash at the Munich Security Conference.

According to the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the Russian government has not yet signaled any interest in taking part in the meeting of top politicians and experts next week. “There was no contact whatsoever from the Russian embassy, ​​which regularly presented invitation requests before 2022,” said MSC chairman Wolfgang Ischinger to the German Press Agency. “That shows me that there is zero interest in constructive discussions.”

However, Ischinger expects Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj to come to Munich, as he has in the past two years. “I’m sure of that,” he said. The conference will take place from February 13th to 15th at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof and is considered the most important meeting of experts on security policy in the world.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was a former regular guest at the Munich Security Conference and attended almost every year between 2004 and 2020. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was initially considered unwelcome in Munich. Participation was out of the question as long as there was no starting point for negotiations between the two sides.

This year the situation has changed. Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are now sitting at a table in Abu Dhabi to talk about ending the war. The next round is scheduled to take place this Wednesday and Thursday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Ischinger could have imagined negotiations between the two warring parties in Munich. “Of course Munich could be a place for such a conversation channel,” he told the dpa. “But that would require a willingness on the Russian side for serious dialogue and peace. And we are not there at the moment, which I regret.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken out in favor of developing a European channel to Russia. “The Russian response was to arrogantly look the other way,” complains Ischinger.

In his view, high-level participation by the Russian government would hardly be possible for another reason. “As long as the Russian decision-makers are rightly subject to sanctions, they cannot set foot on German soil anyway.”