Politics

Rishi Sunak to join world leaders in Munich for conference on international security

Rishi Sunak to join world leaders in Munich for conference on international security

Rishi Sunak will join other world leaders in Munich this weekend for a conference on international security, Downing Street has confirmed.

The meeting in Germany comes days after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited London, Paris and Brussels as part of efforts to convince allies to arm Kyiv with fighter jet planes.

The conference was also held last year in the days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Then prime minister Boris Johnson used the occasion to warn Moscow that the West would stand with Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

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Mr Sunak’s attendance at the conference, alongside other European leaders, comes amid speculation that London and Brussels are moving closer to reaching a Brexit deal over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Negotiated as part of the Brexit deal with the EU, the protocol has turned out to be a big headache for both Northern Ireland and Westminster as it has affected goods coming into the country.

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The Munich conference provides Mr Sunak with an opportunity to hold face-to-face talks with EU leaders to try and bring an end to the row over post-Brexit arrangements in the region.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will also join fellow defence ministers for a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

This discussion comes amid the backdrop of fresh tensions with China after the US shot down four balloons flying in its airspace this month – with Washington declaring one of them to be a piece of Chinese spyware.

The UK is reviewing its own security measures in the wake of the incidents.