Around 50 leaders and 100 ministers are expected at the annual conference, which will be held in the southern German city from 16 to 19 February.
– A few days ago, Vladimir Putin said that he would like to negotiate, just not with the current Ukrainian government. In other words, there is no real will to talk. That is why we have said that we will not invite the Russian government, but we will invite Russians from non-governmental organizations and exiled politicians, says Christoph Heusgen, who heads the conference.
He followed the same line last year, which was the first time the conference was held after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
– Regarding Iran, we hear from the German government and from the Americans that there is no interest in talks. As things stand, we only invite Iranians from non-governmental organisations, says Heusgen.
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He also says that certain German parties will not be invited and specifically mentions the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which was also banned last year. The newly founded Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has not been invited either. Both parties sit in the German National Assembly.
For a long time, it was the tradition that all parties represented in the Bundestag should be invited, but Heusgen did not do so when he chaired the conference for the first time last year.