United States Vice President JD Vance says his country may disagree with the United Kingdom about how to address the crisis in Gaza, but they share a common goal in resolving it.
Vance made the comments on Friday as he met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in southern England. Last week, the UK declared its intention to recognise a Palestinian state along with France and Canada, in a bid to put pressure on Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Friday, Vance said the US had “no plans” to do the same.
Asked by reporters about the UK’s stance, Vance said both countries aimed to resolve the crisis in the Middle East but “may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal”.
“I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state, given the lack of functional government there,” he said.
“Our goals are very clear. We want to make it so that Hamas can’t attack innocent people. We want to solve humanitarian problems in Gaza.”
Asked whether President Donald Trump had been given a heads-up on Israel’s announced intent to occupy Gaza City, Vance said he would not go into such conversations. “If it was easy to bring peace to that region of the world, it would have been done already,” he said.
He added that he expected Trump to “talk at some point to the media about his response” to Israel’s plan.
Old criticisms
Vance and Lammy also discussed the war in Ukraine before a possible summit next week between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Vance, who has previously criticised the UK and its governing Labour Party, landed with his wife, Usha, and their three children in London before heading to Chevening, the large country residence used by the British foreign minister in Kent.
Vance has championed Trump’s America First foreign policy and once said last year’s election victory for Lammy’s centre-left Labour meant the UK was “maybe” the first “truly Islamist” country with a nuclear weapon.
Lammy once called Trump a “far-right extremist” and a “neo-Nazi”, but since coming to power has brushed off his remarks as “old news”.
Vance’s trip will include several official engagements, meetings and visits to cultural sites and a likely meeting with US troops, a source familiar with the planning told the Reuters news agency.
Vance is due to stay at Chevening throughout the weekend, according to the UK’s foreign ministry. His family will then spend some time in the Cotswolds region in western England, UK media reported.
Reports have also said Vance will visit Scotland, where Trump spent five days at his golf resorts last month. Trump is also scheduled for a historic second state visit to the UK next month.
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