US Vice President JD Vance asserted on Tuesday, March 4, that he was not specifically targeting France and Britain with his comments belittling the military capabilities of nations backing a potential European peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. Britain and France have expressed their readiness to send ground troops to support any peace agreement—something Vance reacted to Monday in a Fox News interview by ridiculing the idea of deploying “20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t engaged in a war for 30 or 40 years.”
Following a wave of criticism from officials in London and Paris, Vance took to X to clarify that he never specifically referenced France or Britain in his statements, adding that both nations had “fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.”
Nevertheless, he questioned the fundamental concept of a British-French “coalition of the willing” to oversee any ceasefire in Ukraine. “There are numerous countries offering (either privately or publicly) support that lack both battlefield experience and the necessary military equipment to make a significant impact,” he remarked.
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In recent days, Vance has positioned himself as President Donald Trump’s foreign policy critic, particularly concerning Europe. He surprised European leaders at the Munich Security Conference last month with a speech perceived as an aggressive criticism against the continent and Germany in particular, accusing them of stifling free speech and marginalizing parties that express strong reservations about immigration.
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