Heading into the first day of the MSC on Friday, there were hopes for greater clarity on how the United States plans to conduct peace talks on Ukraine. Instead, Europe heard harsh criticism, ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported Friday night.

"The threat that I worry about most vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia; it's not China; it's not any other external actor," Vance said in his speech. "And what I worry about is the threat from within."

The vice president was referring to Europe's migration policy and restrictions on free speech. He said that European democracy is not so fragile that it cannot tolerate hearing opinions that may be difficult to agree with.

"If American democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, then you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk," he emphasized.

German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius responded by saying that calling European democracy into question and comparing it to an authoritarian regime is unacceptable.

"This is not acceptable," Pistorius said in his response onstage. "This is not the Europe or the democracy that I live in and fight for today. This is not the democracy I experience in our parliament. In this democracy, every opinion has a voice. This allows even extremist parties like the AfD to campaign as normal — just like any other party. That is democracy."

Pevkur: If Russia leaves troops there, it's not really peace

While disagreements between Europe and the U.S. once again took center stage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that he would only accept a peace deal agreed to by the U.S., Europe and Ukraine.

"And we will sit with Putin and stop the war," Zelenskyy acknowledged. "Only in this case am I ready to meet — not in other compromises, platforms."

Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) stated that the security guarantees Ukraine would need depend on what the front line would look like following peace negotiations.

"If the Russians continue to leave 600,000 men there, then it's clear we're not really talking about peace," Pevkur emphasized. "Then tensions will actually remain high, and the powder keg will keep burning."

ICDS chief: No peace talks actually on the horizon

Speaking to ERR in Munich, International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS) director Kristi Raik expressed concern over the U.S. vice president's comments, adding that the latest messages from top U.S. politicians indicate that no Ukraine peace talks can be expected anytime soon either.

"It was surprising that [Vance] focused in his speech on shared values, while at the same time making it very clear that in the U.S. debate, these democratic values have become a point of political division," Raik said, adding that he was now trying to project that same division onto Europe.

"What's especially concerning is that, according to him, Russian disinformation and election interference aren't real problems or something that would threaten European democracy," she continued. "Instead, he claimed that it's actually European censorship and restricting free speech when we take measures to combat disinformation."

According to the ICDS chief, perhaps the biggest surprise and most important takeaway from Friday's discussions is that nothing has become clearer in terms of a Ukraine peace plan.

"It seems that the U.S. still doesn't have a clear understanding of what they intend to do next on Ukraine, and no talks can be expected anytime soon," she noted.

"If we want to see anything positive in this, it's that discussions are ongoing between Europeans and the Americans, as well as with the Ukrainians," Raik highlighted. "So there's still a chance for Europeans and the Ukrainians to influence U.S. positions."

Nonetheless, she doesn't expect much more clarity on the matter over the next two days of the security conference.

"Peace talks still aren't something that will begin tomorrow, and it may take quite some time before we get to that point," the ICDS director acknowledged.

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