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US vice-president JD Vance tried to head off a transatlantic dispute on Tuesday by insisting he was not insulting Britain and France when he said peace in Ukraine was unlikely to be secured by “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
His original comments about a proposed European force led by the UK and France to secure any peace in Ukraine provoked a furious reaction in London and Paris, with veterans saying the vice-president was dishonouring the hundreds of UK troops who died alongside US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But early on Tuesday morning, Vance said on social media site X that it was “absurdly dishonest” to suggest he had criticised British or French troops in an interview with Fox News: “I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.”
Sébastien Lecornu, the French defence minister, said Vance had “thankfully” clarified his comments. “We respect the veterans of all our allied countries, and we of course expect that ours are also respected,” said Lecornu.
Vance originally told Fox News on Monday: “The president knows that if you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years. The security guarantee and also the economic guarantee for Ukraine is to rebuild the country and ensure that America has a long-term interest.”
Vance’s office later added: “The reality is there’s not a single country in Europe that has the military resources to meaningfully deter Russia without American assistance. Many of these countries have served valiantly in support of American and Nato missions in the past, but it’s dishonest to pretend those contributions amount to anything comparable to the mobilisation that a hypothetical European army would need.”
Only Britain and France have publicly committed to a European peace stabilisation force in Ukraine, although others have indicated privately they might join, including possibly Canada and Norway.
Vance insisted on Tuesday that he was referring to other potential participants in what UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called “a coalition of the willing”.
“Let’s be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful,” he said.
Hope is not a strategy to bring peace to Ukraine.
The only person in town who seems to have a strategy is President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/Tuitz2ZJ8R
— JD Vance (@JDVance) March 4, 2025
Vance made his original comments after Fox News host Sean Hannity raised the proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal and “European troops”, a plan for boots on the ground spearheaded by the UK and France.
More than 600 British service people died fighting alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 25 years. France suffered about 90 losses in Afghanistan and, with Britain, later joined a US-led coalition against Isis.
Johnny Mercer, former UK Conservative armed forces minister who served in Afghanistan, said: “Vance needs to wind his neck in.” He added: “Show a bit of respect, and stop making yourself look so unpleasant.”
James Heappey, another former Conservative defence minister and army veteran, said: “Serving with the US and France were defining moments of my military career.” He added on X: “Sad to hear the relationship reduced to this.”
Michel Goya, a former colonel in the French army, said in a post on X addressed to Vance that “British and French soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside the Americans are giving you shit from where they are.”
Starmer’s spokesperson declined to respond to Vance’s comments directly, but noted that British troops had fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan “alongside allies, including the United States”. The Élysée Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Vance’s assertion that a US mineral deal with Ukraine was “a way better security guarantee” than European forces on the ground has been called into question by Starmer.
“The mineral deal is not enough on its own,” Starmer told MPs on Monday. The UK prime minister also told MPs he did not expect the US to suspend aid to Ukraine, a policy announced by US President Donald Trump hours later.
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have argued that a US military “backstop” for a European force in Ukraine, deployed to guarantee the peace, is essential to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine.
They have said the US-Ukraine mineral deal, which they are urging Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign, would be part of any security guarantee.
Vance’s comments underline the challenges facing Starmer and Macron as they try to persuade Trump to back a European peace plan with US military cover.
The UK and France are the only powers in Europe that have nuclear weapons. Both militaries are capable of ground, air and naval operations as demonstrated by their expeditionary operations in recent decades.
