Munich Conference chairman cried during closing ceremony

Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, cried during his speech at the forum's closing session on February 16. The event was broadcast on the conference website.

The diplomat let a tear fall, noting the fragmentation of NATO countries' values, which he said became apparent after U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's speech on Feb. 14.

"This conference started as a transatlantic conference. After Vice President Vance's speech on Friday, we should fear that our common value base is no longer so common," Heusgen noted.

He also thanked the European politicians who responded to Vance's statements and "reaffirmed the values and principles they defend." The chairman then interrupted his speech.

"Let me finish. This is getting tough," he said.

Heusgen's speech was later commented on by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. According to her, the conference chairman demonstrated undignified behavior.

"He said that Putin 'only reacts to strength' and then... cried. Either to show the strength of weakness. But that's kind of a woman's story. Or from yet another of his own lies," Zakharova emphasized in her Telegram channel.

In addition, she added that it was Russian leader Vladimir Putin who in 2007 in the same hall called on Western countries for global cooperation and respect for international law.

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U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking at the conference on February 14, emphasized the crisis in Europe, which, in his opinion, was provoked by the Europeans themselves. Vance cited as an example mass immigration to the EU, the record scale of which, according to him, is due to a deliberate policy of the authorities pursued over a decade.