The Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Christoph Heusgen, emotionally concluded his closing remarks on the third and final day of the meeting. As he wrapped up the meeting, Heusgen could not hold back his tears. The broadcast shows this.
"With (convenor of the MCU) Ewald von Kleist this conference started as a trans-Atlantic conference after the speech of Vice President Vance on Friday we have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore. I am very grateful to all those European politicians who spoke up and reaffirmed the values and principles they defend. No one did it better than President Zelenskyy, who has been fighting for these values for the past three years - democracy, freedom, the rule of law," Heusgen said in his speech.
Recall that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's speech on European policy, the BBC notes, was called "ill-conceived" and "offensive" by many delegates at the Munich Security Conference, but at the same time it was liked by others on both sides of the Atlantic, in particular Donald Trump called it "brilliant".
Heusgen recalled the main events and theses that were heard at the Munich Security Conference, summing up his speech to summarize.
"It is clear that our rules-based international order is under pressure. I am deeply convinced that this more multipolar world must be based on a single set of norms and principles, on the UN Charter and on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This order is easy to violate, easy to destroy, but much harder to restore. So let's stick to these values, not invent them, but focus on strengthening their consistent application. Let me conclude, and this is getting difficult..." he said, after which his voice became emotional.
The MSC Chairman fell silent for a few seconds, probably trying to control himself. His face took on an emotional expression and Heusgen left the stage, where he was supported by the conference participants.
After Heusgen, the President of the permanent Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, took the stage and commented: "This is amazing. I am very happy that you reacted in this way to Christoph's emotional reaction. In fact, I am very moved myself."
(Speech by Christoph Heusgen from 3:47:00)
Christoph Heusgen has been the Chairman of the Munich Security Conference since 2022, and the closing of this year's conference marked the end of his term in office.
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