JD Vance takes centre stage at Munich Security Conference – but fears of wider European war persist

Published

11 hours ago

February 15, 2025

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With tripods and light-stands bashing the legs of world leaders, or at the very least their staff, TV crews squeeze up and down staircases overloaded with suits and military braids at an annual security conference in Munich.

Speeches and panel sessions are the main public spectacle inside a luxury hotel surrounded by tight security, but the real business takes place in private – behind the closed doors of multiple rooms on various floors.

Accessing the meeting rooms or at least attempting to catch a few words with officials shuttling in and out of them offers the best chance of gauging the high-stakes diplomacy going on – especially this year as Donald Trump‘s disruptive force shatters Europe’s order.

But attempting to squeeze along corridors bursting at the seams with chattering delegates makes every trip to a different room an uncomfortable sweaty workout.

As for what to be looking out for, a brief belief that Russia was sending a delegation to meet the Americans and the Ukrainians sparked a flurry of frenzied searching by journalists on Friday – the opening day of the three-day gathering.

Mr Trump had claimed such talks would be taking place in Munich.

But such a prospect rapidly faded after Moscow and Kyiv said that was not happening.

Instead, the movements of the US vice president and other American envoys were the primary focus, closely followed by Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then the Europeans.

JD Vance’s keynote speech in the main hall was a prime attraction until he opened his mouth and started berating Europeans over the state of their economy, accusing Germany, Sweden, the UK, and others of restricting free speech and censoring social media posts.

The words prompted a muted smattering of applause, while the majority of the audience of ministers and military chiefs looked sullen, including most notably Boris Pistorious, the German defence minister, who later rebuked Mr Vance for his comments.

Ukraine‘s president will have his moment on the big stage on Saturday, but he has been working the rooms, meeting top ministers and speaking to the press.

He made clear his desire for the choreography of any peace talks and said he had no immediate plans to talk with any Russians.

“First of all, I don’t want to meet just with Russia, just to meet for what? No. We see the order of meetings… is the United States, Europe, then Russia – to be ready for this meeting,” Mr Zelenskyy said, speaking in English.

He also offered a sense of the scale of any international force that might be needed to secure the peace in the event of a ceasefire with Vladimir Putin – and said he wanted the US to be involved, even though the defence secretary has ruled out US boots on the ground.

“If we’re talking about a contingent, I have a map that shows 110,000 foreigners. I’m being honest with you,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

“Ideally, our partners who are professionals at sea – Britain, the Nordics, etc – if they are experts, it would be best if they were in the sea,” he said.

“That’s how it should be, to be completely candid. So yes, we want the United States to be involved – don’t we? We really do.”

Later in the day, in another room under tight security, Mr Zelenskyy and his top team sat across the table from Mr Vance as well as Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

The Ukrainian leader is having to perform the most delicate of balancing acts – staying close to the Americans but also sticking to his red lines when it comes to concessions to Moscow.

“We have good conversation today, our first meeting – not last,” Mr Zelenskyy told watching cameras.

“We need to speak more, to work more, and to prepare the plan, how to stop Putin and finish the war.”

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Mr Vance repeated his boss’s ambition.

“We want the war to come to a close, we want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” he said.

But there remains a worry that this is exactly what might happen.

European allies are also concerned that they are being sidelined and Ukraine’s future put at risk because of the noises that have been coming out of the White House about Vladimir Putin, his war in Ukraine and whose fault it was.

Miguel Berger, Germany’s ambassador to London, is one of the many thousands of delegates who have gathered for the three-day Munich Security Conference.

He set out Berlin’s concerns about the US when it comes to Ukraine.

“We are worried about several things,” the ambassador said.

“First of all, I must say we were quite surprised about some of the comments which were made at the NATO defence ministers meeting.

“I think it’s not very wise to say upfront which things you [won’t] ask from Putin or whether you might concede.”

He added: “So that’s why it is so urgent to use now the Munich Security Conference to talk about all these topics, how we are going to approach such talks, and what the role of the Europeans and the Ukraine games will be that.”

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What we know about Munich car ramming which has left dozens injured

Published

2 hours ago

February 15, 2025

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What we know about Munich car ramming which has left dozens injured

A mother and her two-year-old daughter have died – and more than 30 people were injured – after a car drove into a crowd in Munich, police have said.

The incident took place on Thursday at a square close to the city’s central train station at around 10.30am (9.30am UK time), officials said.

Here is everything we know:

What happened?

The car – a cream-coloured Mini Cooper – was driven into the crowd on a street called Seidlstrasse in a central area of the city.

The crowd was taking part in a demonstration organised by a trade union, and a police car was following them as they walked, deputy police chief Christian Huber said.

“Then a vehicle approached it from behind,” he added.

“It approached the police car to overtake it, and then accelerated and drove into the back of the demonstration.”

The badly damaged Mini could be seen after the attack along with items of clothing and bags, a broken pram, a shoe and a pair of glasses scattered across the floor.

A man was arrested at the scene after police fired a shot at the car vehicle.

What we know about the victims

Police on Saturday said a 37-year-old mother from Munich and her daughter were the first fatalities from the incident.

Officials had earlier said a total of at least 36 people were injured.

In Friday’s news conference, they said one adult and one child were “very seriously injured” and eight other people were seriously injured.

Who is the suspect?

The man arrested was a 24-year-old Afghan national, Farhad N, who came to Germany as an asylum seeker.

Officials say Farhad N has lived in Munich since he arrived as an unaccompanied minor in 2016, and has no previous convictions.

The man’s asylum application was rejected, but he had not been forced to leave due to security concerns in Afghanistan and he was in Germany legally with a work permit.

Prosecutors say he is now under investigation on 36 counts of attempted murder as well as bodily harm and dangerous interference with road traffic.

Do we know the motives?

At the news conference on Friday, prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said the suspect appeared to have had a “religious motivation”.

In questioning, he “gave an explanation that I would summarise as religious motivation,” she said, adding the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is great”, to police and then prayed after his arrest.

She said he admitted to police that he “deliberately drove into the participants of the demonstration”.

“I’m very cautious about making hasty judgements, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime,” she added.

She clarified that the authorities had no reason to believe that the perpetrator was affiliated with any Islamist or terrorist organisations and that they had not found any evidence of him having accomplices.

She said they were now looking through his devices to see “whether other people knew about the attack before it happened, or if he was part of a network”.

The incident happened shortly before world leaders including US vice president JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the southern city for the Munich Security Conference, which started on Friday.

But police have said the incident is not thought to be related to the conference.

Incident comes amid immigration tensions

Security and immigration have been in sharp focus in Germany ahead of a federal election next week and following a string of violent attacks, with the far-right party AfD party doing well in polls.

Two months ago, a Saudi doctor was accused of driving his car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring hundreds.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the Munich incident as a “terrible attack” and said the perpetrator “must be punished and he must leave the country”.

His comments come after the government said last year it was resuming flights for convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country.

“It is very important for me to get the message across that anyone who commits crimes in Germany will not only be severely punished and sent to prison, they must also expect that they will not be able to continue their stay in Germany,” he said.

“That’s why I managed to get the government I lead to resume and carry out repatriations to Afghanistan, despite the lack of diplomatic relations,” he said.

He added: “We have already organised such a flight with criminals… we are also in the process of doing this in other cases. And not just once, but on an ongoing basis.

“This perpetrator cannot count on any leniency, he must be punished and he must leave the country.”

World

Mother and two-year-old daughter die after car ramming attack in Germany

Published

2 hours ago

February 15, 2025

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Mother and two-year-old daughter die after car ramming attack in Germany

A two-year-old baby and her mother have died after a car was rammed into a group of people in Munich on Thursday.

The 37-year-old mother from Munich and her daughter are the first fatalities from the incident, German police said on Saturday.

At least 36 people were injured in the Thursday morning attack.

The suspect, a 24-year-old Afghan national, was detained at the scene.

He is known as Farhad N and has lived in Munich since he arrived as an unaccompanied minor in 2016, and has no previous convictions.

Prosecutors confirmed he is now under investigation on 36 counts of attempted murder, as well as bodily harm and dangerous interference with road traffic.

They said he appeared to have had an Islamic extremist motive, though there was no evidence he was connected to any radical network.

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Craig and Lindsay Foreman: British couple detained in Iran are named – as family ‘significantly concerned’

Published

7 hours ago

February 15, 2025

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Craig and Lindsay Foreman: British couple detained in Iran are named - as family 'significantly concerned'

A British couple who have been detained in Iran have been named by their family as Craig and Lindsay Foreman.

The family said they are “significantly concerned” by the “distressing situation”.

According to Ms Foreman’s social media, the couple were on a motorbiking trip across the globe to Australia as part of a positive psychology mission.

On 30 December, she posted about how they were about to face “one of the most challenging” parts of their trip, Iran and Pakistan.

The post reads: “Despite the advice of friends, family, and the FCDO (which strongly advises against travel to Iran for British nationals), we’ve chosen to keep moving forward.

“Why? Because we believe that, no matter where you are in the world, most people are good, kind humans striving for a meaningful life.

“Yes, we’re aware of the risks. But we also know the rewards of meeting incredible people, hearing their stories, and seeing the breathtaking landscapes of these regions could far outweigh the fear.”

In a statement, the couple’s family expressed their concern and said they were engaging with the UK government.

“We would like to take this opportunity to address the distressing situation concerning Craig and Lindsay Foreman who are currently being detained in Kerman, Iran,” they said.

“This unexpected turn of events has caused significant concern for our entire family, and we are deeply focused on ensuring their safety and well-being during this trying time.

“We are actively engaging with the British government and relevant authorities, working diligently to navigate the complexities of this matter. The family are united in our determination to secure their safe return.

“We truly appreciate the outpouring of support from friends, family, and the community, which has provided us with strength and encouragement as we face this ordeal.”

They added: “Thank you for your understanding, compassion, and continued support.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson earlier said: “We are providing consular assistance to two British nationals detained in Iran and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Iranian state media said on Wednesday that a man and woman were in custody in Iran’s southeastern city of Kerman on security-related charges.

The Foreign Office warns that people are at risk of “arrest, detention and a death sentence” if they travel to Iran.

Iran has previously arrested and held British citizens for extended periods of time.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, who are dual British-Iranian citizens, were released in March 2022 after years held captive in Iran.