Mike Pence Arrives in Munich for Security Conference

Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, arrived in Munich on Friday to participate in the Munich Security Conference and meet with several world leaders and international officials. This is his first trip abroad as Vice President under Donald Trump. According to the Associated Press, Pence will attempt to alleviate concerns regarding America's commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union during this trip. He is also scheduled to travel to Brussels on Sunday and Monday to meet with NATO and EU officials. The report adds that this visit comes at a time when European countries are expressing concerns over Russia's aggressive actions and ambiguities regarding Trump's policies towards Vladimir Putin. Pence is set to deliver a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and subsequently meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The U.S. Vice President will also meet with the Presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan on Saturday. The 53rd Munich Security Conference hosts high-ranking officials from many countries and international organizations, focusing on topics such as NATO's future, global order, terrorism and extremism, and wars in Syria and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain, a prominent figure in the Republican Party who is attending the Munich Security Conference, stated that evidence suggests the White House is confused. According to Fox News, McCain emphasized in his speech at the Munich conference that the resignation of General Michael Flynn, the U.S. National Security Advisor, last week indicates that the Trump administration is 'confused in many ways' and has a lot of work to do. Flynn resigned on Monday, weeks after reports surfaced about his contacts with the Russian ambassador in Washington during the transition period. He has been accused of meeting with the Russian ambassador without a mandate while Barack Obama's administration was in power and discussing U.S. sanctions against Moscow and the possibility of easing them. He is also accused of providing false information about his contacts to the Vice President and other officials in the Trump administration. In his resignation letter, Flynn acknowledged that he had multiple contacts with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., during the transition period and provided 'incomplete' information regarding the content of these contacts during his meeting with Pence.