German minister: comparing Germany with authoritarian regime is unacceptable

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's defence minister on Friday rebuffed criticism by U.S. Vice President JD Vance of German and European political powers as unacceptable, weighing in on a debate over anti-immigrant groups' bid for influence in the region.

"This democracy was just called into question by the U.S. Vice President, not just the German democracy but that of Europe as a whole," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

"If I understand him correctly he compares the condition of Europe with what prevails in some authoritarian regimes ... this is not acceptable," he added.

Vance earlier said at the conference there should be no "firewall" that rules out political collaboration with European parties that address voters' concerns over immigration.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Thomas Seythal)

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