Sunak will join world leaders for the Munich conference

Rishi Sunak will join other world leaders in Munich this weekend for a conference on international security.

The meeting comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky toured London, Paris and Brussels as part of efforts to convince allies to arm Kiev with fighter jets.

Downing Street confirmed that the prime minister will travel to Germany for the conference, which was held last year in the days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson used the occasion to warn Moscow that the West would support Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

Sunak’s attendance at the conference, along with other European leaders, comes amid speculation that London and Brussels are close to reaching an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Attendance at the summit may provide an opportunity for Sunak to hold face-to-face talks with EU leaders as part of efforts to end the dispute over post-Brexit deals in the region.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace will also join other defense ministers at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

That meeting also comes amid renewed tensions with China after the United States shot down four balloons flying in its airspace this month, with Washington declaring one of them a piece of Chinese spyware.

The UK is reviewing its own security measures in the wake of the incidents.