Christoph Heusgen, a veteran German diplomat and chairman of the 2025 Munich Security Conference (MSC), bid an emotional farewell to European and international allies in his final speech on Sunday, as partners struggle to deliver a collective response to criticism of NATO and EU security networks leveled at the summit by US officials.
The three-day meeting between international allies was marred by speeches from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, who gave conflicting messages about Ukraine's future membership in the NATO alliance, and appeared to be a comfortable fit for Germany's far-right political party just days before Germany's national elections.
"After Vice President Vance's speech on Friday, we should fear that our common ground of values is no longer so common," Heusgen said on the last day of the MSC, the Telegraph reports.
He thanked European partners for their unwavering commitment to preserving democracy, but also warned that a new era of global geopolitics is beginning.
"I am very grateful to all those European politicians who spoke out and reaffirmed the values and principles they are defending. No one did this better than President Zelensky," he said.
Heusgen had to stop before trying his conclusion – which he eventually cut short to keep the tears at bay.
"Let me finish, and this is getting difficult," he said, before wiping his eyes and exiting the stage to the applause of the crowd.
Although the audience at the MSC seemed to embrace Heusgen's message, others online - including White House adviser and the world's richest man, Elon Musk - criticized the leader as "pathetic" for lamenting what the presidents see as the possible end of a decades-old transatlantic alliance. /Telegraph
