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Leaders Meet in Munich to Discuss Future of NATO and Ukraine

Steven Erlanger and Stefan Kornelius join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepare to address a media conference during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on February 13, 2025. Play Video
Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP

About This Episode

As world leaders gather in Munich this week for their annual security conference, Ukraine will once again take center stage–though mainly because of the two people who won’t be there. Presidents Trump and Putin discussed the war and committed to work towards peace in a phone call, but didn’t commit to involving Ukraine in the talks. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told his counterparts in Brussels that the US had other interests and Europe needed to take care of its own security. A new Council report explains how Europe can do so. To discuss how these transatlantic tensions will play in Munich, Stefan Kornelius and Steven Erlanger join Ivo Daalder in Munich for a special episode of World Review, recording on the sidelines of the year’s most important security conference.

About the Panelists
Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe, The New York Times
Headshot for Steven Erlanger. Wikimedia Commons.
Based out of Brussels, Belgium Steven Erlanger is the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times. He's been reporting for the Times since 1987.
Headshot for Steven Erlanger. Wikimedia Commons.
Head of Foreign Policy Department, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Headshot of Stefan Kornelius
Stefan Kornelius has spent over 20 years at Süddeutsche Zeitung. Throughout his career, he has covered Germany's Christian Democratic Party, the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, and defense issues in Europe. His biography of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, entitled “Angela Merkel, the Chancellor and her World,” has been translated into 13 languages.
Headshot of Stefan Kornelius
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder