Overview
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Munich to head Washington’s delegation and is set to speak Saturday with a message U.S. officials describe as less confrontational and focused on shared crises.
- Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz opened the forum warning the post‑war rules‑based order “no longer exists as before” and urging partners to rebuild confidence across the Atlantic.
- Rubio met Merz and plans talks with Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Jens‑Frederik Nielsen over the Arctic dispute, while he says he expects to see Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Conference organizers expect roughly 60 heads of state and government and dozens of ministers, including Ukraine’s president and China’s foreign minister, as NATO’s new Arctic Sentry mission begins operating.
- With Ukraine diplomacy set to resume in Geneva on 17–18 February, European leaders intensified debates on greater defense self‑reliance, including discussions on extending France’s nuclear deterrent.