Vance Sees ‘Good Chance’ of a US-UK Deal, Criticizes Zelenskiy 

Vice President JD Vance watches as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Ohio State University football team, on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance watches as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Ohio State University football team, on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Vance Sees ‘Good Chance’ of a US-UK Deal, Criticizes Zelenskiy 

Vice President JD Vance watches as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Ohio State University football team, on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance watches as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Ohio State University football team, on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

There is a good chance that the United States and Britain will strike a "great agreement" on trade due to President Donald Trump's love of the country and its royal family, his deputy JD Vance said in an interview with UnHerd on Tuesday.

Britain was spared the most punitive treatment in Trump's initial tariff announcement, due to the two sides enjoying a largely balanced trade relationship. Still, British imports in the US now incur a 10% charge while its steel and car sectors incur a rate of 25%.

Officials from both countries have been locked in talks for weeks that initially focused on boosting cooperation on artificial intelligence and tech but could also expand to include food and other goods.

Vance told UnHerd that the US administration was working very hard with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government.

"The President really loves the United Kingdom," he said. "He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he's a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in (Britain)."

Citing a US cultural affinity for Britain, Vance said: "I think there's a good chance that, yes, we'll come to a great agreement that's in the best interest of both countries."

Vance, who has taken a combative approach to Europe since he became vice president in January, reiterated his stance that he wanted Europe as a whole to increase its security spending, and once again criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Vance, responding to Zelenskiy's recent comments that he had somehow justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said he had condemned Russia since 2022 but had since tried to understand the strategic objectives of both sides to find a solution.

"That doesn't mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion, but you do have to try to understand what are their strategic red lines, in the same way that you have to try to understand what the Ukrainians are trying to get out of the conflict," he said.

"I think it's sort of absurd for Zelenskiy to tell the government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians."

He said that kind of rhetoric was "certainly not productive".



Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military's statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation.

The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Pakistani authorities often accuse India of backing outlawed groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Pakistani Taliban who commit violence in Pakistan. Such accusations have increased since a shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistani troops killed 54 insurgents in the same area in April.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.