Munich Security Conference Day 2

World
Europe

Russia and the United States traded barbs at the Munich Security Conference again. CGTN's Guy Henderson has the highlights.

America's not out to sabotage the multilateral order it built. It just wants to do more to defend it, says its National Security Adviser. And it wishes its allies would join in.

H. R. MCMASTER US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER "Rogue regimes that already imperil international security in the Middle East and North East Asia are developing the most destructive weapons on Earth. We must actively cooperate to protect, reform, and strengthen these institutions."

That shift in thinking is alarming those not in the club.

FU YING, CHAIRPERSON CHINESE NPC FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE "Many of you present belong to the U.S.-led military alliance. But some of us are not: we are outside the alignment. So do we have the same security concern? Can we trust each other -- or are we going to make each other into strategic rivals as some of the U.S.'s latest documents mentioned? And we are leading the world too."

To Donald Trump's "Number Two" diplomat, blame lies with Russia.

JOHN SULLIVAN US DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE "What's changed? What is new in this nuclear posture review? First of all, our assessment of the security situation has changed. While the U.S. has been focusing on reducing the number of nuclear weapons in our nuclear posture, other countries have not been engaged in such a reduction."

Moscow's ambassador to Washington during the run-up to the 2016 U.S. election addressed U.S. charges of Russian election meddling – and said he believes his country's caught up in an American domestic political game.

"Whatever allegations are being built against us are simply fantasies"

With international consequences.

SERGEY KISLYAK FORMER RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO US "They are looking at the use of nuclear weapons as a war fighting-instrument rather than a classic deterrent."

Trans-Atlantic allies are still talking. It's who else should be part of the conversation that's causing friction here.

GUY HENDERSON MUNICH "China's most senior representative here said she hoped the US would make up its mind and start talks to try and de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. But Fu Ying also admitted that without more trust, any lasting agreement would remain impossible. GH, CGTN, MUNICH."