Kamala Harris leaves for Germany on 'high-stakes' Ukraine-focused visit

US vice president leading Washington’s delegation to Munich and will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

US Vice President Kamala Harris will on Saturday address the Munich Security Conference, a meeting of western allies that was launched at the beginning of the Cold War. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

US Vice President Kamala Harris left Washington for Germany on Thursday for a “high-stakes” mission to hold talks on the Ukraine crisis as she leads the US delegation at the Munich Security Conference.

During her three-day trip, a diplomatic test of her vice presidency, Ms Harris will discuss a "path to de-escalation" in the Ukraine crisis, US officials said.

She will meet 13 heads of state including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the White House said.

“The vice president's schedule is going to be very intense and it will include a series of high-stakes, high-level diplomatic talks,” a senior US official told reporters on Wednesday evening.

The vice president will on Saturday address the Munich Security Conference, a meeting of western allies that was launched at the beginning of the Cold War.

Ms Harris is leading a delegation that includes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

“Her speech will also focus on reassuring our allies and partners of our commitments and how we're committed to bolstering Nato and reinforcing our allies in the face of Russian aggression,” the official said.

“We are in a very decisive moment.”

This will be Ms Harris's second trip to Europe and marks a shift from her early foreign policy focus on Central America and Asia.

She has faced a difficult first year in office and her public appearances and effectiveness on a range of weighty issues at home have been heavily criticised, especially by the opposition Republican Party.

On the global stage however, she is more often greeted as a trailblazer, the rare woman leader from the US.

President Joe Biden has regularly urged his vice president to engage with foreign leaders directly and develop her own rapport with key US partners, White House sources say, and the Munich trip is likely to be a major diplomatic test of her vice presidency and her highest-profile foreign trip yet.

On Friday, she will meet Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and hold an expanded meeting with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

“She will discuss the latest developments related to Russia's [military] build-up on Ukraine's border, our work together on deterrence and diplomacy, our force posture, and our readiness to further reinforce Nato allies on the eastern flank,” the US official said.

Ms Harris will also address a “path to de-escalation” for the situation in Ukraine, though no breakthroughs are expected during her trip.

“She isn’t going with any deliverables, per se, as a result of the important goal for her journey now, [which] is to give attention to this fast-changing, evolving state of affairs, the super problem that we face now,” the official said.

Asked about contingency plans if an attack on Ukraine takes place while Ms Harris is in Munich, the official said the US is prepared for an evolving dynamic.

“We are in a fluid situation. This is something that we've talked about from the very beginning in terms of what we have seen in terms of the build-up and the fact that it is continuing.”

Reuters contributed to this report