AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov reports from Munich as the three-day Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (13 February), bringing together world leaders, diplomats, and policy makers to discuss pressing global security challenges.
“The rupture of the Transatlantic Alliance is facing one of its major crises in living memory,” said the president of the Munich Security Conference in his opening remarks, framing the event around this year’s conference report, Under Destruction, which examines the state of global affairs as a “wrecking ball” from multiple angles.
Amashov described the atmosphere as “electric,” noting that the conference, held at Munich’s Hotel Bayerischer Hof, is unusually condensed compared with gatherings such as Davos or the UN General Assembly, with leaders arriving for a flurry of meetings and panel sessions.
A key focus is the U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose speech, on Saturday, is expected to set the tone for U.S.-Europe relations amid heightened tensions over NATO cohesion and Arctic security. Discussions are also expected to address China’s potential role in limiting Russia’s actions in Ukraine, an issue European leaders are watching closely.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived in Munich on Friday, holding meetings with senior officials, including the head of the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq.
President Aliyev is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Saturday.
Other historic moments in the conference’s 60-year history, such as Vladimir Putin’s 2007 speech, were cited as context for current debates, highlighting how strategic signalling from global powers continues to shape European security calculations.
The conference continues through Sunday, with a series of speeches, bilateral meetings, and panel discussions aimed at addressing what organisers describe as “unprecedented challenges” to the international order and alliance cohesion.
Senior Fellow Qinduo Zhu of the Pangoal Institution told AnewZ from Munich that European leaders are increasingly recognising the need to take responsibility for their own security.
“After 80 years of protection, Europe has grown up. They now understand they are on their own and must face this new reality,” Zhu said.
He added that while the shift in mindset is broadly accepted, European nations are still adjusting to the practical challenges of assuming greater responsibility for defence and NATO cohesion.
On the impact of the Ukraine war, Zhu highlighted that it has intensified debates over deterrence and the future structure of NATO.
“The U.S. is rebalancing the alliance, transforming NATO into a partnership-oriented framework that is very different from the unipolar period following the Soviet Union’s collapse,” he explained.
He noted that European states remain partners of the U.S., but the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and broader geopolitical pressures mean Europe must invest more in its security and economic resilience.
Zhu described the emerging narrative at the Munich Security Conference as one of urgency.
He reiterated that Europe must act independently, strengthen NATO, and confront the challenges of the new global order while balancing economic competition, transatlantic expectations and the complex dynamics of the Ukraine crisis.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev spoke about the emergence of a new world order at the Munich Security Conference. In response to AnewZ's Orkhan A...
AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov reports from Munich as the three-day Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (13 February), bringing together world lea...
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped do...
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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev spoke about the emergence of a new world order at the Munich Security Conference. In response to AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov, he discussed the creation of the Board of Peace, launched in Davos and its upcoming first summit in Washington.
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped down following mounting pressure linked to alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The United States is set to deploy an additional 200 troops to Nigeria as part of expanded counterterrorism cooperation, according to a senior Nigerian military source.
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, 12 February, in an effort to reinforce its naval presence as diplomatic efforts falter.
Europe heads into the Munich Security Conference, on Friday (13 February), amid deepening unease over U.S. policy, as President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on defence, trade and territory fuels doubts about Washington’s long-term commitment to transatlantic security.
James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Türkiye and Greece signalled renewed political will to ease long-standing tensions during high-level talks in Ankara on Wednesday (11 February). Maritime borders, migration and trade topped the agenda as both leaders struck a cautiously optimistic tone.
Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
BMW is recalling a mid six figure number of vehicles worldwide after identifying a potential fire risk linked to the starter motor.
As Cuba’s government prepares for American aggression, residents say economic hardship worries them more than the threat of war. Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. have escalated sharply this year, as Washington steps up sanctions and threatens regime change.
Europe needs to develop global partnerships with key nations to tackle global problems together, chancellor tells Munich Security Conference
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped down following mounting pressure linked to alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched early on Friday, 13 February, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying four astronauts and cosmonauts on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-12 team includes two Americans, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut.
The United Kingdom’s High Court has ruled that the government’s ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action was unlawful, citing the disproportionate use of anti-terror legislation, but membership of and support for the group remain criminal offences.
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