{"id":82703,"date":"2025-05-07T20:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T20:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/82703\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T20:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T20:01:13","slug":"its-not-europe-bad-america-good-jd-vance-returns-to-munich-meeting-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/82703\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s not Europe bad, America good\u2019: JD Vance returns to Munich meeting | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was part of JD Vance\u2019s first international trip as United States vice president: The former senator from Ohio was taking a tour of Europe, representing the second administration of President Donald Trump on the world stage.<\/p>\n

A major point on his itinerary was a speech he would give<\/a> to the 61st annual Munich Security Conference on February 14, in front of leaders representing some of the US\u2019s closest allies.<\/p>\n

But rather than celebrate those historic ties, Vance took a more aggressive approach. Perched at the podium in Munich, he shocked onlookers by criticising Europe, warning against laws and restrictions he said could \u201cdestroy democracy\u201d.<\/p>\n

It has been nearly three months since Vance delivered that speech, and on Wednesday, the vice president returned to the Munich forum, this time for its leaders\u2019 meeting in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

In a question-and-answer segment with German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, Vance revisited his February speech, which sparked backlash within Europe and at home. He also gave a preview of US negotiations over Iran\u2019s nuclear programme and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Here are three key takeaways from his remarks.<\/p>\n

\"WolfgangWolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, moderated the discussion with Vance [Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]
\nMending fences with Europe<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s public appearance marked the third time Vance spoke to an event hosted by the Munich Security Conference. But his last speech \u2014 with its accusations of democratic backsliding \u2014 loomed heavily over the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Vance tried to reframe his remarks on Wednesday as respectful criticism between allies, emphasising the warm relations the US and Europe have traditionally shared.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI think \u2014 I mean this from the heart and as a friend \u2014 that there is a trade-off between policing the bounds of democratic speech and debate and losing the trust of our people. And we\u2019re all going to draw the lines a little bit differently,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI\u2019m fine if one country is going to draw those lines a little bit differently than the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that questions of free speech and democratic principles are issues the US is grappling with, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of us, including especially the United States, we have to be careful that we don\u2019t draw the lines in such a way that we actually undermine the very democratic legitimacy upon which all of our civilization rests,\u201d the vice president explained.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI think that is fundamentally the point here. It\u2019s not Europe bad, America good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he said, Europe and the US are \u201con the same civilizational team\u201d, and he underscored his belief that no wedge could come between them, even if the two parties exchanged criticism.<\/p>\n

\"JDVance took a softer tone than during his last appearance at February\u2019s Munich Security Conference, which sparked criticism [Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]
\nWalking a fine line with Iran<\/p>\n

Vance also struck an upbeat tone in his assessment of the US\u2019s efforts to scale back Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, saying the two countries are on \u201cthe right pathway\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWithout prejudging the negotiations, I will say: So far, so good. We\u2019ve been very happy by how the Iranians have responded to some of the points that we\u2019ve made,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

Vance\u2019s optimism offered a counterpoint to concerns that the negotiations could be derailed by continuing tensions between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n

Last week, a fourth round of talks expected in Rome were postponed<\/a> for \u201clogistical reasons\u201d, though experts pointed out that the delay coincided with a fresh slate of US sanctions against Iran\u2019s petroleum industry. Those talks are slated to resume this weekend in Oman\u2019s capital Muscat.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Vance stressed the US position that Washington will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, though he expressed ambivalence about nuclear energy for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t care if people want nuclear power. We\u2019re fine with that. But you can\u2019t have the kind of enrichment programme that allows you to get to a nuclear weapon. And that\u2019s where we draw the line,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

Still, the question of nuclear enrichment \u2014 even for civilian purposes \u2014 has been a point of contention in recent weeks. Certain US officials have signalled they would like to see Iran eliminate its enrichment programme<\/a> altogether.<\/p>\n

For his part, Vance questioned whether it was likely Iran would use uranium enrichment solely for nuclear power, not weaponry.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me ask this basic question: Which regime in the world has civil nuclear power and enrichment without having a nuclear weapon?\u201d Vance asked. \u201cThe answer is no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has long denied any ambition of seeking a nuclear weapon, and it has signalled it is willing to scale back its enrichment programme. Previously, it had signed onto a 2015 deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that imposed limits to its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.<\/p>\n

During his first term, however, Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, causing the pact to fall apart. The US president has since sought to rekindle nuclear negotiations with Iran during his second term.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really think that, if the Iran domino falls, you\u2019re gonna see nuclear proliferation all over the Middle East,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

\"AVance spoke to the ongoing negotiations with Iran, Russia and Ukraine [Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]
\nNot \u2018pessimistic\u2019 about peace in Ukraine<\/p>\n

The vice president also shared his insight into another area of tense international negotiation: the war between Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Since February 2022, Russia has led a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after capturing regions including Crimea in 2014.<\/p>\n

In his campaign for re-election last year, Trump pledged to end the slow-grinding war, which has cost thousands of lives. He even claimed he would stop the war on his first day back in office, though he has since backtracked, telling Time Magazine he meant those remarks \u201cfiguratively\u201d.<\/p>\n

But Trump has nevertheless sought to act as a mediator between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. His administration, however, has been criticised for negotiating with Russia in isolation and seeming to acquiesce to Putin\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n

Trump, for instance, has echoed Russian talking points blaming Ukraine for the war and saying that Zelenskyy can \u201cforget about\u201d membership in the NATO military alliance. His officials have also suggested Ukraine was \u201cunlikely\u201d to regain the territory it had lost to Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n

Vance took a slightly tougher stance against Russia on Wednesday, underscoring that he and the Trump administration did not see eye to eye with Putin.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aYou don\u2019t have to agree with the Russian justification for the war, and certainly both the president and I have criticised the full-scale invasion,\u201d Vance said. \u201cBut you have to try to understand where the other side is coming from to end the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vice president sought to justify Trump\u2019s approach as an effort to bring both sides to the negotiating table, in the spirit of what he called \u201cstrategic realism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur view is: It\u2019s absurd that you\u2019ve had this war go on for so long. And the two sides aren\u2019t even talking constructively about what would be necessary for them to end the conflict,\u201d Vance explained.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aA frustration that we\u2019ve had frankly with both sides is that they hate each other so much \u2014 that, if you have an hour conversation with either side, the first 30 minutes is just them complaining about some historical grievance from four years ago or five years ago or 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance laid out his position that Russia is \u201casking for too much\u201d in terms of concessions from Ukraine. But he also criticised Ukraine for sticking to a 30-day ceasefire proposal<\/a> that initially emerged from talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWhat the Russians have said is a 30-day ceasefire is not in our strategic interest,\u201d Vance said. \u201cSo we\u2019ve tried to move beyond the obsession with the 30-day ceasefire and more on: What would the long-term settlement look like?\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that he was \u201cnot yet that pessimistic\u201d on the prospect of a negotiated peace, despite rumblings from the White House that Trump may withdraw from the negotiations altogether.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was part of JD Vance\u2019s first international trip as United States vice president: The former senator from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[32,299,1234,3058,774,839,12,12617,8041,285,7661,1219,657,49,978,286,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-82703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-government","11":"tag-international-trade","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-middle-east","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-nuclear-energy","16":"tag-nuclear-weapons","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","19":"tag-trade-war","20":"tag-ukraine","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-us-canada","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114468335589338725","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}