More than 250 senior NATO officials, defence industry representatives, a heavyweight delegation from the US Congress, political representatives from all corners of the globe, non-governmental organisations, and a few members of the press meet annually in Munich to discuss security policy in an informal atmosphere. This year's motto was "Peace Through Dialogue".
It had been relatively warm in Munich, but on Saturday it felt as though an ice-cold wind straight from Siberia was blowing through the Bavarian capital. Many people interpreted President Putin's sharp address as the starting shot in a new Cold War, some 16 years after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. It was the first time a Russian head of state had addressed the security summit in Munich and Vladimir Putin took a leaf out of the Soviet style book and arrived at the conference in a flashy Zil limousine, brought to Germany especially for the occasion.
Towards a multipolar world
In front of a 270-strong audience, Mr Putin sharply criticised NATO policies and singled out the United States for a particularly fierce attack. According to the Russian president, it is unhealthy for the world to have political and military power concentrated in one country. He was of course referring to Washington. Mr Putin called for the role of the United Nations to be strengthened in order to move from a unipolar to a multipolar world. Conversely, the Russian president came in for his share of tough questions from the audience.
Later on Saturday, at a speech given in a charming five-star hotel in the centre of Munich, Mr Putin expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the West has treated the promises it made after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the abolition of the Warsaw Pact. The criticism is hardly new and calls for a multipolar international system also came from the old Soviet Union. Mr Putin has also vigorously criticised both NATO and Washington at G-8 summits.
Open and frank
On Sunday, after the dust of publicity had settled, it was realised that although Vladimir Putin had been rather blunt, he had hardly announced the start of a new Cold War. Addressing the conference later on, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said:
"Our relations with the European Union, with the United States of America, with Germany in particular, are so mature that we are free to speak what we really think, and what messages [we] want to be delivered. Openly, frankly, without any hypocrisy and Cold War thinking".
Minister Ivanov also announced that the former Soviet Union spent 30 percent of its gross national product on defence. He added that Russia now spends less than three percent on defence, joking that while it is still higher than the two percent norm in NATO countries, this was okay since Moscow didn't want to become a member.
Nostalgia
In his reaction, the new US Defence Secretary Robert Gates pointed to his 20-year career as Russia expert and Kremlin watcher for the CIA. He caused much laughter by referring to his subsequent job as vice-president of a university as a "re-education camp". Mr Gates said President Putin's speech had almost made him nostalgic for the "good old days" of the Cold War when everything was clearer. But he also made it absolutely clear that a new Cold War was not on the cards:
"We all face many common problems and challenges, that must be addressed in partnership with other countries, including Russia. For this reason, I have this week accepted the invitation of both President Putin and Minister of Defence Ivanov to visit Russia. One Cold War was quite enough."
Iran
The spotlight at the Munich conference also shone on Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and president of the national security council. Despite refusing three earlier invitations, Mr Larijani had now turned up after all. The conference organiser Horst Teltschik, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's security adviser, praised Mr Larijani for deciding to attend. The Iranian also received warm applause from the audience, which had suddenly lost two of its members. Secretary Gates and the new commander-in-chief of NATO, General Bantz J. Craddock, chose that moment to leave.
The applause was not for the content of Mr Larijani's speech. He went into great detail about Iran's - supposedly - peaceful policies, but the words that everybody had been hoping for were not uttered. He did not announce a temporary halt to Iran's uranium enrichment programme. A UN Security Council ultimatum expires on 21 February and the threat of more sanctions hangs over Tehran.
Apart from lots of speeches from the podium, Munich is also the scene of lots of one-on-one discussions. According to Mr Teltschik, there were hundreds of such private meetings in suites and rooms all over the chic hotel. However, he discreetly declined to say who met whom and what they talked about.
*Translated and Edited by RNW Internet Desk (jc)
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