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US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend the Munich Security Conference, leading a US delegation to the event. At the event, Harris will also be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the midst of tensions with Russia over the region.
Senior administration officials revealed Wednesday that Harris will be meeting with Zelensky at the conference. This would mark her first meeting with the Ukrainian leader amidst tensions in eastern Europe with the buildup of Russian troops at the border it shares with Ukraine. Harris’s meeting with Zelensky will be one of the high-profile meetings she will hold while at the conference.
“We are in a very decisive moment,” a senior administration official told the press in a preview call. “The vice president is leading the US delegation to the Munich Security Conference this year, as a resounding signal that engagement with our allies and partners is an absolutely critical part of our overall diplomacy in our approach to this situation.”
The security conference also marks Harris’s second trip to Europe as vice president. According to officials, Harris will be discussing the key issues of unity among allies, and the economic sanctions that would be imposed on Russia should it make an invasion into Ukraine. The West has repeatedly warned that an invasion may be carried out at any time.
Harris’s main objective in Munich is a three-pronged approach, according to the administration official. This includes focusing on the situation on the ground, maintaining an alignment with US partners, and sending a clear message to Russia that the US will continue pursuing diplomacy but will be prepared should there be any aggression.
In other related news, Harris’s husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, made history alongside his wife as he became the first male spouse of the country’s president or vice president. According to a report by McClatchy, security concerns seem to pose a challenge between the second couple, as Emhoff is not allowed to text his wife nor drive her to work as he usually did during Harris’s time as a Senator.
Emhoff, who currently teaches at Georgetown University, is also considered a White House official with an office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Harris works in an office in the West Wing, but also has a ceremonial office in the building and the couple would sometimes bump into each other in a “happy accident.”
