The war in Ukraine is at the center of MSC talks

Shafaq News/ On Friday, the Munich Security Conference started in Germany to discuss security issues on the global level.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad S. Al-Sudani and the Kurdish president, Nechirvan Barzani attend the Conference that brought together about 40 heads of state and government as well as politicians and security experts from almost 100 countries.

Besides the Russians, organizers didn’t invite officials from Iran due to the crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic.

Russian officials were invited but didn’t attend last year’s conference in Munich, which ended just four days before the invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24.

By its measure, the Munich Security Conference has had a difficult year.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a blow to the high-profile event, whose mission is to "contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts."

The war has not only smashed Ukrainian cities, leaving untold thousands dead but also dearly held security assumptions. Navigating a new reality, and fusing global "fault lines," is at the center of this year's MSC. In the view of its chairman, Christoph Heusgen, the threat posed most immediately to Europe is a reason to double down on dialogue.