US Vice President JD Vance met with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday at Chevening, the almost 400-year-old red-brick mansion set in 3,000 acres of gardens that serves as the British foreign secretary’s official country residence.
The two leaders discussed global economics, the Israel-Hamas war, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Appearing before reporters ahead of their talks, Vance addressed Britain’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
He questioned what such recognition would mean “given the lack of a functional government there” and reiterated that the United States had no plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
Vance said Washington and London shared common goals in the Middle East but acknowledged “some disagreements” on how to achieve them.
Britain, alongside France and Canada, has declared its intention to recognise Palestine to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Asked whether US President Donald Trump had been informed of Israel’s intent to occupy Gaza City, Vance declined to comment, adding, “If it was easy to bring peace to that region of the world, it would have been done already.”
The meeting came as the United States and the United Kingdom remain at odds over how to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
While Trump has focused on bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders have stressed that Ukraine must be involved in any peace negotiations.
On Thursday, Putin said he hoped to meet Trump next week, a day before Trump’s deadline for Moscow to show progress in ending the nearly three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
Trade was also on the agenda, with Britain seeking favourable terms for steel and aluminium exports to the US and both sides working out details of a broader trade deal announced in late June.
Earlier on Friday, Vance and Lammy went fishing in the lake behind Chevening House, appearing relaxed in blue button-down shirts and sharing a laugh.
Vance joked that “the one strain on the special relationship” was that all his children caught fish but the British foreign minister had not.
Lammy later posted on X that “before beginning our bilateral, the Vice President gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style.”
About two dozen protesters gathered near the entrance to Chevening, some waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh scarves. One held a sign with a meme mocking Vance.
Despite coming from opposite political traditions — Lammy from the left-leaning Labour Party and Vance a conservative Republican aligned with Trump’s “America First” agenda — the two men have formed a personal connection over their hardscrabble childhoods and Christian faith.
Lammy told The Guardian that he considers Vance a friend, recalling a Catholic Mass at the Vance home in Washington earlier this year and a meeting in Rome during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in May.
After two nights at Chevening, Vance and his family will travel to the Cotswolds, a picturesque region covering about 800 square miles across five counties in western England.
Known for its quaint villages, stone cottages and rural scenery, the area has become a favourite among wealthy Americans.
British media report that the family has rented a house in Charlbury, 12 miles west of Oxford.
Socialite and journalist Plum Sykes described the village as “very fashionable” and said, “There’s been this mass exodus from America to the Cotswolds. Americans just cannot get over the charm. Then power and money attract power and money.”
The trip, described by a source familiar with the planning as a working visit, will include official engagements, fundraising events, cultural visits, and meetings with US troops.
It follows heightened transatlantic tensions, domestic political shifts in both countries, and growing attention on Vance’s role in the Trump administration.
(With inputs from AP, Reuters)
