The Director of KAS Greece and Cyprus, Marian Wendt

We are experiencing the second year of the war of attrition in Ukraine and at the same time trying to come to terms with the effects of a dynamically developing conflict in the Gaza Strip. The dual crisis threatens the post-Cold War international order, peace and stability on the European continent, in the Middle East and beyond. It also poses an existential challenge to the institutionalised international system created after the Second World War. The Athens Security Forum should focus on the political, defence and security dimensions of the developing crises. For two days, political decision-makers, diplomats, analysts, think tanks, academics and journalists came together to analyse current events, discuss their significance and provide information for policy development.

In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and its impact on Europe, as well as the war in the Gaza Strip, the Athens Security Forum offers a useful and necessary opportunity for an in-depth exchange between renowned and highly experienced security experts and politicians from Greece, Europe and the USA. All institutions participating in this conference guarantee discussions at the highest level. The geopolitical and geostrategic aspects of the current challenges and future prospects of the European security architecture are at the top of the national and European agenda. It is therefore of the utmost importance that such forums also take place in Greece, which is not only a member of the EU and NATO, but also plays a key role for the Western alliances in the security plans for South Eastern Europe.