In 2007, Putin effectively declared war on the West from the podium of the Munich Security Conference when he stated that the greatest catastrophe of the last century was the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the time, the West did not pay enough attention to this statement. This was noted by the Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2016, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, during a broadcast on Sky News from the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which began on 13 February.

"In 2007, Putin declared war against the West at this very venue in Munich when he was very vocal, saying that the biggest disaster of the last century was the collapse of the Soviet Union. And he has actually started to revamp and restore the Soviet empire. Western allies were deaf to his tone," said the KSF Chairman.

 According to the former prime minister, this has now turned into a global threat. ‘It is crystal clear that Putin, China, North Korea and other totalitarian regimes are eager to reshape the global order or, in fact, impose a new type of global order,’ Yatsenyuk stressed.

At the same time, the Chairman of the KSF positively assessed the specific steps taken by the allies on the eve of the conference.

"German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that they have decided to support Ukraine with PAC-3 air defence missiles and are asking other allies to provide another 30 PAC-3 missiles for Ukraine. There are certain coordinated actions to support Ukraine. Putin does not follow the words. He only closely monitors actions and deeds. The same applies to China," the Chairman of the KSF noted.

Yatsenyuk stressed that the current negotiations are fictitious – Putin is simply stalling for time.

"US President Donald Trump has set a number of different deadlines over the past year. I believe this sends the wrong signal to designated war criminal Putin and Russia. We have to focus on clear-cut deliverables. As of now, this has nothing to do with real negotiations. These are sham talks. Even the Russians call them consultations. So Putin is simply stalling for time," said the Chairman of the KSF.

He outlined what Western partners should focus on instead of discussing deadlines. ‘We have to focus on deliverables and on clear-cut actions: how to put pressure on Russia and how to create the preconditions to make Russia sign a real peace deal and not pretend that they are negotiating with Ukraine,’ Yatsenyuk stressed.

The 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) is taking place on 13-15 February. It is an influential international forum on global security and defence policy, bringing together more than 450 world leaders. On February 14, the Munich Conference will host the first joint event of the Kyiv Security Forum and the MSC – a round table discussion entitled ‘Energy Warfare: How to Unplug Tyranny.’

The Kyiv Security Forum was founded in 2007 on the initiative of Arseniy Yatsenyuk and is the leading international discussion platform in Ukraine on issues of war and peace.