Vance, Lammy discuss Gaza and Ukraine amid growing US-UK diplomatic engagement

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Vice President JD Vance held talks on the Gaza crisis during a meeting on Friday, as Vance began his holiday in the United Kingdom.

The meeting took place at Lammy’s official country residence, Chevening House, in Kent, where the two went fishing in a carp pond before starting formal discussions at the 17th-century estate.

Speaking to reporters, Vance said the United States had “no plans” to follow Britain in recognising a Palestinian state.

“I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state, given the lack of functional government there,” AFP quoted Vance as saying.

Vance said he expected President Donald Trump to “talk at some point to the media about his response” to Israel’s plan to “take military control” of Gaza.

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“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,” he added.

The conversation between Vance and Lammy also covered the war in Ukraine, ahead of a possible summit next week between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as efforts continue to resolve the more than three-year-long conflict.

Despite their political differences, Lammy, from the centre-left Labour Party, and Republican Vance have developed a strong personal rapport, rooted in shared Christian faith and similarly challenging childhoods. Lammy even attended mass at Vance’s official residence in Washington earlier this year.

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Vance described Lammy as a “good friend” but joked about their fishing trip at Chevening: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not.”

Vance is expected to remain at Chevening through the weekend, according to the UK Foreign Office. His family will then visit the Cotswolds, with reports suggesting he may also travel to Scotland—where Trump recently spent five days at his golf resorts.

During that visit, Trump signed a trade deal with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, played golf, and inaugurated a new 18-hole course. He is scheduled to return to the UK for a state visit in September.

With inputs from agencies