The 62nd Munich Security Conference has ended. On the last day of the forum, Kiev insisted on tougher European sanctions against Russia, and Brussels announced conditions for Moscow in the peace talks, DW reports.
From the stage in Munich, the European Union's top diplomat Kaia Kallas announced the conditions that should be included in the negotiation process in any future talks with Russia.
"If Ukraine's military capacity must be limited in size, the same must apply to Russia. Where Russia has caused damage in Ukraine, it must pay for it. "No amnesty for war crimes," said Kallas.
The security of the Arctic and the future of Greenland were also in the focus of the forum.
''There are red lines that cannot be crossed,'' announced Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
''The basic principles of our democracy are respect for the sovereignty of states, their territorial integrity and the self-determination of peoples. The people of Greenland are very proud and we cannot and will not compromise on that,'', Frederiksen was categorical.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio put a band-aid on European wounds: the tone of his speech was not as harsh as a year ago, when Vice President J. D. Vance was teaching Europeans about democracy. Rubio delivered a conciliatory speech, mentioning the European roots of the United States, but making it clear that differences on trade, migration and climate protection remain.
European diplomats applauded her, which surprised many observers, because not so long ago NATO was almost buried in Europe. On the sidelines of the Munich conference, they said that Washington lacks trust. What will happen next, how relations with the United States will develop - is unclear.
It seems that Europe hopes to wait out the Trump administration and is preparing to defend itself, although it will not break off ties with America. Because it cannot afford it, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted. One reason is its dependence on the US for military support for Ukraine.
The West hopes for diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia
Western leaders spoke less about Ukraine in Munich than in the previous four years - this attracted the attention of many. Although the war with Russia was among the main topics, there was also a lot of discussion about Ukraine, many words of solidarity and heroism, which caused applause.
In the atrium of the hotel, an art object by British artist Damien Hirst was exhibited - "Incomplete Truth" - a white dove in formaldehyde. Next to it was a plaque with a quote from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling on Western partners to force Russia to end the war.
Whether art helped motivate Western leaders and military personnel who took selfies next to the peace symbol is an open question.
No new initiatives were announced in Munich, giving observers reason to assume that Europeans had nothing to say. That impression was somewhat tempered by President Zelensky's presentation of the "Ewald von Kleist" prize, awarded to the Ukrainian people and named after the founder of the Munich Conference.
After the results of Munich, Europe and the United States are hoping for a diplomatic end to Russia's war against Ukraine, but, as one participant put it, "hope is not a strategy". There is still no consensus in Europe on whether to resume negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose 2007 speech in Munich was published this year in book form by the organizers, accompanied by analytical articles. It was offered to conference participants in the corridors of the "Bavaria Dvor" hotel.
The Ukrainian president's speech did not contain such sharp criticism of Europe as in Davos. The German press recalled his ironic remark about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
When the Ukrainian leader emphasized that Ukraine also defends Europe, he denied that this allowed Orbán to think about how to ''bigger his belly, not to increase the army''. This sounded like a response to Orbán's recent statement that Ukraine is ''enemy'' of Hungary.
Zelensky also said in Munich that the main important thing for Kiev is weapons and missiles for air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian attacks, as well as on energy.
The majority of Western experts, diplomats and military personnel interviewed in Munich believe that the war in Ukraine will not end this year.