At the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris raised the temperature in the already simmering confrontation between the United States and Russia as top diplomats met to discuss U.S.-China surveillance tensions.
Harris accused Russia on Saturday of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine through a “widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population” in cities such as Bucha and Mariupol.
"In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity,” Harris said in a speech to the German-hosted conference.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met on the conference sidelines Saturday for the first time since the United States shot down what officials called a Chinese surveillance balloon flying in U.S. airspace.
Wang earlier criticized the U.S. government's handling of the incident, saying it was "absurd and hysterical” to shoot it down. After the conference he is expected to visit Russia.
The three-day gathering of 40 world leaders and hundreds of global security elites opened a day earlier with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing his nation as a biblical David fighting to the death against Russia’s Goliath.
“There is no alternative to speed, because it’s speed that life depends on,” Zelenskyy said in urging Western allies Friday to quicken their military support for Ukraine ahead of any further Russian plans to launch major attacks. “It’s not just about Ukraine, the point is that Goliath must lose.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the conference opening a day earlier that Russia's President Vladimir Putin badly misjudged the West. Conference organizers did not invite Russian officials to Munich because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.
"The unity is something he never expected," Scholz said, citing "broad support" for Germany's aid to Ukraine, including the deployment of Leopard main battle tanks.
"I'm really appreciating the strong alliance with the United States," he added in a conversation with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "I'm sure we will continue to be together in this very difficult case."
Ready for a long conflict
Harris, too, promised that U.S. support for Ukraine would go on. “Borders must not be changed by force,” she said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. intelligence community estimates more than 30,000 Wagner Group mercenaries have been killed or wounded in Ukraine while fighting for Russia. The U.S. has labeled the group a significant transnational criminal organization.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with Harris, said Western allies were prepared for "a prolonged conflict" in Ukraine in case Putin refuses to change his tactics.
“We must not be naive, show unity, act vigorously and pursue dialogue as well wherever it is possible, but at the moment the hour of dialogue hasn’t come yet,” Macron said on Friday.
“We have to find a way to force Russia to come back to the table under the conditions of Ukraine," he said.
