The speech of US Vice President J.D. Vance caused concern in Munich, where attendees hoped for clarity on the recent confusing statements of the US administration regarding Russia, achieving peace in Ukraine and whether US troops will be withdrawn from Europe, writes the American publication "Politico".
The US Vice President practically launched a devastating attack on European governments, accusing them of ignoring the will of their people, canceling elections, ignoring religious freedoms and failing to take measures to stop illegal migration. It was a typical American speech delivered at a Make America Great Again campaign event, and it didn't provide a detailed analysis of the defense and security issues that were central to the Munich conference. Instead, Vance focused on recent controversies, from Britain's abortion laws to the recent elections in Romania.
"Insane" was the reaction of former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder to Vance's speech. It was "not the language you would expect in the 21st century, and certainly not from the U.S. vice president at the most important security conference in Europe," he told Politico.
Daalder added that Vance also missed the opportunity to explain the Trump team's positions on the negotiations with Russia over Ukraine. "All he said was that we believe that at some point there should be peace and that was it. The question of territories and borders, the question of security guarantees, the question of sanctions and their future, the question of support for Ukraine and its future was not mentioned at all".
But not everyone condemned the speech. Billionaire Elon Musk, an advisor to Trump, reacted on "Ex" with "Make Europe Great Again! MEGA, MEGA, MEGA."
A European diplomat applauded Vance, calling it "a very strong speech." "A lot of people are not going to like it. A lot of people will silently agree with him but they will prefer not to express it. "There are double standards when it comes to the way EU institutions approach the democratic process in different European countries," he added.
Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, however, said that Vance had misdiagnosed the problem. According to him, it is wrong to consider censorship as the biggest problem facing Europe.
"I think the biggest problem is Russia and many people here think it is Russia," he stressed.
Vance's speech followed a week of confusion and discontent in Europe after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth surprised allies by saying that Ukraine could not return to its borders before the start of the Russian invasion and by ruling out the country's future membership in NATO, "Politico" notes.