"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver addresses on the first day of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), with Russia's four-year war in Ukraine high on the agenda and amid strained ties between the United States and Europe. Merz will open the conference at 1:45pm local time (12:45 GMT), while his French counterpart will close Friday's official programme with a speech at 7pm (18:00 GMT), according to the MSC agenda."
"European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also address the conference over the course of the day. They are among more than 60 heads of state and government and about 100 foreign and defence ministers who have descended on the Bavarian southern German city amid high security, with about 5,000 police deployed for the event."
"This year's conference comes as relations between Europe and the US, their traditional allies and guarantors of the continent's security for decades, are under immense pressure. Since returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump has frequently criticised European countries for not sharing enough of the burden on common defence. Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex the Arctic island Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark,"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will address the Munich Security Conference alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. Merz opens the conference in the afternoon and Macron closes Friday's programme in the evening. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also speak. More than 60 heads of state and roughly 100 foreign and defence ministers have gathered in Munich under heavy security, with about 5,000 police deployed. The conference occurs amid strained US-Europe ties and rising tensions over defence burden-sharing, Greenland threats, and top agenda items including Ukraine, Iran, and Gaza.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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