US Vice President J.D. Vance will not attend the Munich Security Conference this year. Instead, according to the organizers, the US delegation at the February meeting will be led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Focus reports.
As Der Spiegel writes, the German government has so far assumed that Vance would come to Munich in February, and wanted to use the meeting for high-level negotiations. In recent years, the US has usually been represented at the conference by its vice presidents, who delivered the main report on US international security policy.
It is recalled that Vance's speech last year caused a considerable stir. Instead of discussing the threat from Russia, he warned European allies that freedom of speech was under threat in their countries.
"The threat that worries me most about Europe is not Russia, not China", but the threat "from within", Vance said.
During Vance's speech, leading politicians, such as then-opposition leader Friedrich Merz, repeatedly lost their temper. Merz categorically rejected Vance's accusations and condemned the US's attempt to interfere in German domestic politics.
"Why Vance will not come to Munich is not entirely clear. Although the US vice president will be in Europe shortly before the conference, a visit to Rome is also being discussed. However, he will probably have to return to the US afterwards, as US President Trump is planning a trip abroad. In such a case, the vice president will have to fulfill his official duties and remain on US territory," the publication notes.