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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast. I'm Cindy Yu and I'm joined by Katie Bowles and Fraser Nelson.

So Katie, today British politicians, along with other European politicians, are going to Munich for the security conference there.

How significant is this meeting at the moment given the geopolitical tensions on the continent?

So Cindy, I think it would be interesting because this has taken place from the context of

the past few weeks in terms of Ukraine and Russia.

The fact there's still a lot of uncertainty.

You still, yes, UK, US, others were suggesting this Wednesday could be the day of an incursion

that has been and gone and yet there are nerves over what's going to happen.

I don't think anyone thinks the threat has gone.

And at the Munich Security Conference, I think we're going to see, obviously, the Ukraine

dominating the agenda.

I think in terms of the presence there, I think there's going to be a push from the US side,

represented by Kamala Harris, the vice president, to try and

rally European allies to unite on this and try and create a more united response, because

clearly we've seen across Europe different levels of, I say commitment's one way of putting

it, but the fact that Germany doesn't want to go as far. France also, I think, is going

on a different path. And I think America will want to play that role of trying to be the person

that finds a more cohesive approach. Fraser, how significant is it that Russia is not going to be

at the Munich Security Council? Because presumably they're the most important person to really get

around the table. Yes, but they never were going to take part in this particular one.

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