Vance meeting with German far-right leader spurs outrage as European leaders bristle at U.S. policies

MUNICH — Vice President JD Vance’s meeting with the leader of a German far-right party during a visit to Munich, days before a German election, brought outrage on Saturday. And European and Ukrainian leaders bristled at new U.S. policies on Ukraine a day after Vance lectured them about democracy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took aim at the new political tack from Washington, affirming his strong stance against the far-right and said his country won’t accept people who “intervene in our democracy.”

Ahead of Feb. 23 elections in Germany, polls show the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD — whose co-leader met with Vance on Friday — in second, ahead of Scholz’s own Social Democrats. Vance met with Alice Weidel, the co-leader and candidate for chancellor of the far-right and anti-immigrant party, his office said.

Alluding to Germany’s Nazi past, Scholz said the long-standing commitment to “Never Again” — a return to the extreme right — was not reconcilable with support for AfD, which has downplayed Nazi atrocities.

“We will not accept that people who look at Germany from the outside intervene in our democracy and our elections and in the democratic opinion-forming process in the interest of this party,” he said on Day 2 of the Munich Security Conference. “That’s just not done, certainly not amongst friends and allies. We resolutely reject this.

“Where our democracy goes from here is for us to decide,” Scholz added.

A day earlier, Vance said he fears free speech is “in retreat” across the continent and criticized “firewalls” many mainstream parties have put up against working with far-right groups.

He said that many Americans saw in Europe “entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election.”

Vance also said no democracy could survive telling millions of voters that their concerns “are invalid or unworthy of even being considered.”

Scholz, shooting back, said “free speech in Europe means that you are not attacking others in ways that are against legislation and laws we have in our country.” He was referring to rules in Germany that restrict hate speech.

The forceful speech from Scholz and another by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underlined the impact of a blizzard of decisions by Trump that show a rapidly growing chasm in transatlantic ties.

European leaders are reeling after Trump’s decision to upend years of U.S. policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia on Saturday all but ruled out that Europeans would be included in any Ukraine peace talks.

Ramping up his desire for a more muscular and mighty Europe, Zelensky said that Ukraine’s nearly three-year fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion has proved that a foundation exists for the creation of a European army — an idea long discussed among some leaders on the continent.

“I really believe that time has come,” he said. “The armed forces of Europe must be created.”

Zelensky also told the Associated Press on Saturday in Munich that he “didn’t let” his ministers sign an agreement with the U.S. on the extraction of minerals in the country, because “it is not ready to protect us, our interest.” Ukraine has hoped to offer rare earth elements essential for many kinds of technology in exchange for continued military aid.

Earlier, Zelensky alluded to a phone conversation between Trump and Putin, after which Trump said he and Putin would probably meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine — breaking with the Biden administration’s harder line against Moscow over Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, 2022.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the initiative of the U.S. side.

Russia is under sweeping Western sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Rubio and Lavrov discussed Ukraine, the Middle East and developing economic and trade relations, including “removing unilateral barriers to mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation.” They agreed to be in “regular contact,” including to prepare for an upcoming summit.

Trump previously assured Zelensky that he would have a seat at the table to end the war, and the Ukrainian leader insisted that Europe should also have one.

“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement, and the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” Zelensky said, adding that “not once did [Trump] mention that America needs Europe at the table.”

“That says a lot,” he said. “The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.

“Now, as we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky said that his idea wasn’t about replacing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “This is about making Europe’s contribution to our partnership equal to America’s,” he said.

It’s unclear whether the idea will catch on with European leaders. Zelensky has sought greater military and economic support from the European Union for years and repeatedly warned that other parts of Europe could be vulnerable to Russia’s expansionist ambitions too.

Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, all but cut out Europeans from any Ukraine-Russia talks, despite Zelensky’s call for Europe to take part.

“You can have the Ukrainians, the Russians, and clearly the Americans at the table talking,” Kellogg said at an event hosted by a Ukrainian tycoon. Pressed on whether that meant Europeans won’t be included, he said: “I’m a school of realism. I think that’s not going to happen.”

Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, described the new U.S. stance as a “moment of truth” that requires European leaders to overcome their differences and unite for a meaningful peace in Ukraine.

“This is an existential moment. It’s a moment where Europe has to stand up,” she said. “There won’t be any lasting peace, if it’s not a European-agreed peace.”

Moulson and Madhani write for the Associated Press. Moulson reported from Berlin.