WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance insisted on Tuesday he was not targeting France and Britain with remarks he made dismissing the military abilities of countries supporting a possible European peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

European nations are looking at ways to support an eventual peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, with Britain and France saying they would be willing to deploy ground troops. Vance responded on Monday in a Fox News interview by mocking the prospect of sending “20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”

After his remarks drew an angry response from politicians in London and Paris, Vance posted on X that the pushback against his comments was “absurdly dishonest.”