But Vance — who has frequently criticized European leaders and publicly feuded with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week — brusquely dismissed the suggestion in his Fox interview.
Instead he talked up the as-yet-unsigned minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine which would see Kyiv pay 50 percent of the revenues from its state-owned natural resources into a fund that would invest in Ukraine. Trump has argued that having American workers in Ukraine would be enough to stop further encroachments by Russia.
The vice president said: “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 comments sparked a swift backlash in London, including from the U.S. Republicans’ sister party, the Conservatives.
Some highlighted how the U.K. fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Conservative Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said it was “deeply disrespectful” of Vance “to ignore such service & sacrifice.”
Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Helen Maguire, a former Captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq, said Vance was “erasing from history” the British troops who gave their lives in the conflicts, adding his words were a “sinister attempt to deny that reality.”
Vance’s comments were aired after the U.S. halted all military aid to Ukraine, including equipment in transit.
The U.K. government has stood firm in its support for Kyiv, while being at pains to avoid criticising Trump or his push to end the Ukraine war by negotiating with Russia.
