German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized US Vice President JD Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference. Vance claimed freedom of speech is 'in retreat' in Europe. DW has the latest.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance's office says he met the leader of a German far-right party during a trip to Germany on a day he gave a speech castigating European leaders.

The vice president met with the leaders of all four major German political parties — including Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance met on Friday with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, while on a visit to Germany, an official in Vance's office said, according to a pool report.

The vice president said the NATO alliance needed to step up for Ukraine as the United States faces more challenges in East Asia.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned US Vice President JD Vance’s overture to Germany’s far right as a direct intervention in the country’s democracy, marking a new low point in transatlantic relations after Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

US Vice President JD Vance met the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Alice Weidel on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, her spokesman confirmed to dpa. The anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party has been excluded from the high-profile gathering of world leaders and foreign policy experts under way in Munich.