Summary of the day
Politicians, diplomats, civil society representatives and businesspeople met for the third and last day of this year’s Munich Security Conference.
David Lammy, the British shadow foreign secretary, said that he wants a new security pact between the EU and the UK.
J.D. Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, said the future of US foreign policy is a pivot to East Asia and “Europe has to wake up to that fact.”
He also argued that the US doesn’t produce sufficient munitions to support Ukraine and that “what’s reasonable to accomplish is some negotiated peace.”
Ricarda Lang, co-chair of Germany’s Alliance 90/The Greens, gave a rebuttal, saying that Vladimir Putin has shown he doesn’t want peace.
Poland’s foreign affairs minister, Radek Sikorski, and Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Olha Stefanishyna, both said issues between Poland and Ukraine over grain and trucking need to be resolved.
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, said that “we should not be responsible for cleaning Israel’s mess” and that “we all cannot have peace” unless Palestinians have a right to statehood.
The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, said that “what is immediately needed is a ceasefire and what is more needed is to allow international aid to get into Gaza.”
The EU’s policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians, “if we want to play a geopolitical role in this issue, we have to be more united.”
Borrell also said “the West Bank is the real obstacle for the two-state solution.”
Finland’s president-elect, Alexander Stubb, said that “this is our 1918, 1945, 1989 moment, of our generation.”
Angus Lapsley, Nato’s assistant secretary general for defence policy and planning, summarised his impressions of this year’s conference in Munich.
“For me this year it was how allies and industry are coming to terms with scale/pace of change and investment needed to deliver collective defence. Our job at NATO is giving them the plan,” he wrote.
Wheels up from @MunSecConf. Everyone has a different experience of defence Glastonbury. For me this year it was how allies and industry are coming to terms with scale/pace of change and investment needed to deliver collective defence. Our job at @NATO is giving them the plan. pic.twitter.com/abpCdXZbE9
— Angus Lapsley (@ACWLapsley) February 18, 2024
