mseap

NEWS

Board View
SUBJECT [Feb 19] 55th Munich Security Conference comes to a close
DATE 2019-02-19
DOWNLOAD

PHOTO: MSEAP.ORG

 

More than 600 politicians, including about 35 heads of state and government and more than 80 ministers, high-ranking military officials and representatives from business, science, and international organizations met from February 15-17 to attend the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany.

 

In his opening speech, the MSC chairman Wolfgang Ischinger called on European leaders to “speak with one voice” when facing “a new era of wholesale rivalry between the United States, China, and Russia” and urged Europe to take its security more into its own hands.

 

 

Nuclear deterrence and arms control: the INF Treaty

 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the importance of dialogue with Russia, saying that Moscow has “another chance to become compliant again” after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the alleged breach of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

 

Earlier on February 2, U.S. announced its withdrawal from the bilateral Cold War-era agreement which bans stationing short- and intermediate-range land-based missiles with a range between 500 and 5500 kilometers that can carry nuclear warheads in Europe, triggering a six-month process of leaving the agreement.

 

This decision came after accusations of the U.S. and NATO towards Russia for development of the 9M729 ground-based cruise missile which is believed to be capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads and whose estimated 500 to 5500 km range is considered to violate the accord. Moscow in return blamed the alliance for not adhering to the treaty.

 

Meanwhile, China rejected joining the INF ban agreement for nuclear medium-range missiles. China’s Director of Foreign Affairs Office Yang Jiechi said that China is based on military armaments for “strictly defensive needs” and that China is “against the multilateralization of the INF Treaty”.

 

 

Peace and multilateralism

 

Prime Ministers of Greece and North Macedonia, Aleixs Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, received the Ewald-von-Kleist award that honors “outstanding contributions to international peace and conflict management” for achieving a breakthrough in the three-decade-long Macedonian name dispute with the Prespa Agreement.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched an emotional plea for multilateralism, calling China to participate in disarmament, and criticizing U.S. for punitive tariffs on German cars. She also disagreed with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence who urged European allies to withdraw from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, saying it was worth preserving “the small anchor” that the pact represents.

 

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif told the audience that it wsa in Europe’s interest to stick to the Iran nuclear deal, and said that the recently created INSTEX trade mechanism by Britain, France, and Germany to bypass U.S. sanctions on Iran was inadequate.

 

On the situation in Syria, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clarified that there was an agreement between Russia, Turkey, and Iran to clear the area of Idlib, the last opposition stronghold, in a military operation, emphasizing that loose interpretations of international humanitarian law as in the case of 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia will not be applied to the Idlib operation.

 

Yang Jiechi, a member of China’s politburo, also urged his “strategic partners” in Europe to break their dependence on U.S. technology. “We should reject technological hegemony”, he told the crowd of European leaders, appealing for support in China’s escalating trade war with the U.S. and the dispute over Huawei.

 

 

Europe strengthening NATO and transatlantic cooperation

 

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the country’s commitment to NATO and transatlantic relations with the United States, and admitted that the U.S. demand for higher defense spending was justified.

 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian praised the European contribution in NATO, referring to recent European initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESC) and the European Defense Fund.

 

Similarly, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said that “joining forces, synchronization of natural defense programs and industry is in Europe’s strategic interest”.

 

Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze spoke about Georgia’s expectations towards a possible NATO membership at a round table devoted to alliance enlargement prospects hosted by the Munich Security Conference. He said “a further NATO enlargement is the best option for increased security and peace in Europe and Georgia is ready to continue its efforts and provide a very solid basis for this” after his meeting with officials from U.S., U.K., and Belgium.

 

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)