For the first time in over 20 years, the Russian leadership was not invited. Conference leader Christoph Heusgen justified this by saying that he did not want to give Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government a forum for their propaganda. Unlike in previous years, the Iranian leadership and AfD politicians also received no invitation. Among the participants are 40 heads of state and government and almost 100 ministers.
On Friday, Scholz wants to speak with top Chinese foreign politician Wang Yi and US Vice President Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the conference. Currently, there is enormous tension between China and the United States over the launch of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was sighted in the United States.
In the evening, Scholz arranged a meeting for two three-way meetings. He wants talks with Macron and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic about the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo. A dinner with Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda will follow. These French-German-Polish meetings have existed for over 30 years. The format of the conversation is known as the “Weimar Triangle”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has the flu, canceled her appearance at the security conference on Thursday. More recently, Meloni’s coalition partner Silvio Berlusconi caused outrage with comments about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. The former prime minister blamed Zelenskyy for the many deaths and suggested that the West withhold its financial and military aid. Meloni, on the other hand, highlighted his support for Kiev.