Munich - US Vice President Joe Biden is set to give Europeans a preview of his country's new foreign policy agenda as he addresses the prestigious Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

Biden's speech is likely to outline US President Barack Obama's fresh approach to international affairs but won't delve into details on how Obama intends to address a long list of issues and challenges, analysts say.

Biden's appearance will be closely watched by officials and experts waiting to hear how the Obama administration intends to engage the rest of the world and repair the damage of the last eight years.

Biden is likely to set out "an enunciation of principles" on foreign policy, Loren Thompson, a defence analyst with the conservative Lexington Institute in Washington DC, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

According to conference host Wolfgang Ischinger, formerly German ambassador to Britain and the US, Biden is to address leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian deputy premier Sergey Ivanov on subjects such as Afghanistan, NATO and arms control.

Analysts in Europe say that Biden's stance on Russia will be a crucial one at a time when both one-time Cold War foes are reeling under the impact of the global financial crisis.

Biden "might use the opportunity of Munich to start a diplomatic initiative towards Russia," said Markus Kaim, head of security studies at the SWP Institute for Security and International Affairs in Berlin.

Specifically, analysts are looking for a first indication of how Obama intends to handle the question of arms control. The US and Russia are at odds over Russia's 2007 suspension of a key treaty on conventional weapons and US plans to deploy a missile-defence system to Poland and the Czech Republic.

Obama has already pledged to review the plans, raising speculation that he might, at least, slow down the programme in return for Russian cooperation on nuclear and conventional disarmament.

"I don't know if they'll scrap the programme, but they may slow it down ... I'd think they would want to get something from Russia," Ivan Eland, of the US-based Independent Institute, told dpa.

Europeans will also look for clues to Obama's stance on NATO enlargement, after former president George W Bush's call for a quick entry for Georgia and Ukraine enraged Russia and split the alliance.

European leaders "certainly won't want Obama to climb back on Bush's horse and charge for rapid accession" for the two former- Soviet states, Michael Emerson, head of security studies at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels, told dpa.

A conciliatory speech from Biden on those issues "could help improve relations" with Moscow and pave the way for diplomatic advances later in the year, Kaim said.

But Biden - the former chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee - is also expected to level harsh words at the Kremlin.

Russia's August invasion of Georgia "created a serious new security challenge," which the US will meet by strengthening its allies in Europe, Obama and Biden wrote on their election website.

European observers are also keen to see whether Biden will give more details of US plans for Afghanistan, following Obama's call to add some 20,000 troops to the 55,000 NATO soldiers serving there.

Many European members of NATO have been reluctant to commit major resources to Afghanistan, a trend Obama hopes to reverse.

"If you're going to get the troops in there and then get them out after you stabilize the place, (the Europeans) might be more willing to stay the course," Eland said.

However, with Germany facing elections in September, Kaim said that Biden was unlikely to call directly for more troops before then.

And while the vice president looks set to be the dish of the day in Munich, analysts say that it is still far from clear whether his speech will truly uncover Obama's foreign-policy menu.

"The government doesn't yet know how much money it will be spending on what items over the next four years ... It isn't clear yet what role Biden will play in the administration," Thompson said.

Elsewhere in the conference, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and US former secretary of state Henry Kissinger are set to discuss nuclear disarmament.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is increasingly under fire in the West for his administration's perceived inefficiency and corruption, is set to debate his country's future with top officials including NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. (dpa)