US, Russia Launch Effort for Long-Term Syria Cease-fire - VOA
European Divisions Drive Munich Conference, While Russia Circles Thursday February 18 th , 2016 at 10:20 PM 1 Share By Matthew Bodner, Defense News 8:38 p.m. EST February 18, 2016 US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, talks to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the Security Conference in Munich. (Photo: Matthias Schrader/AFP via Getty Images) MUNICH — In the best of times, the annual Munich Security Conference serves as an altar upon which the trans-Atlantic alliance can reaffirm its vows. When the chips are down, as they were this year, Munich exposes the deep fragility of Euro-Atlantic unity. The tone of European leaders assembled at the conference was as ominous as the threats described were diverse. The European Union is overwhelmed by migrants from Syria, transnational terrorism, and the threat of Russia on the eastern flank. “There is a great deal at stake. The forces pulling us apart in Europe are so enormous,” said German