European top diplomats were on Monday set to press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure any settlement in the war with Russia is fair to Ukraine and steer clear of any new escalation with Iran, at talks of the G7 group in Paris.
The meeting of ministers from the leading industrialized nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States will provide Europe and its allies with a chance to air preoccupations with their US counterpart.
Russia’s war against Ukraine following the February 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbor is grinding towards its fifth anniversary. And Washington is still not ruling out new attacks against Iran even after the defeat of President Donald Trump’s Republicans in the midterms.
The meeting coincides with US-mediated talks with Moscow and Kyiv in Abu Dhabi scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday on ending the Ukraine war, with Europe concerned Kyiv must not be forced to accept disadvantageous conditions and that the US could offer Russia new security guarantees over the heads of the Europeans.
“For Europe, it is clear: we do not need to establish a new security architecture for Europe,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul as he headed to the talks, adding Europe “must have a place at the table.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday that Europeans will be represented at the Abu Dhabi talks, with France also participating.
Trump stoked fears of a US pivot toward the Kremlin by predicting a “very big” deal with Russia involving not only Ukraine but “all of Europe.”
But before leaving for Paris, Rubio said the post-war security infrastructure of Europe is “one of the key topics that’s been raised repeatedly in every conversation any time negotiations have been discussed.”
“We obviously have to get past the conflict to get to that point,” he noted.
On Iran, Trump has not ruled out new strikes, including at so-called Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear site which Tehran denies is such a facility.
Europeans, however, are eager to see a resolution and shipping traffic return to normal in the Strait of Hormuz energy transit hub.
Trump allayed some fears by telling CNN it was “highly unlikely” that fighting would resume.
“We certainly cannot afford any military escalation at this point,” said Wadephul, adding the G7 talks would “focus on identifying ways to ensure it is indeed avoided.”
Rubio warned however there had been “no progress” in talks with Iran whose demands he said were “simply not just unacceptable but, in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”
The G7 ministerial meeting, one of the final acts of the French G7 presidency that saw President Emmanuel Macron host Trump for the leaders’ summit this summer in the lakeside resort of Evian, had long been scheduled to be held in the southern port city of Marseille.
But at the last minute the event was moved to Paris, with only scheduling reasons given for the change.
The visit by Rubio -- seen by US media as a potential candidate to succeed Trump -- is his first abroad since the midterms. Washington will in 2027 take over the G7 presidency from France.
“It is not uncommon to have a division of power in this country,” Rubio said, alluding to the fact that Trump will now see both houses of Congress controlled by the Democrats.
The sidelines of the meeting will also see the French finance ministry hosting on Monday a donor conference to raise funds to repair the dome protecting the nuclear reactor that exploded in Ukraine’s Chernobyl in 1986 after it was damaged in a Russian strike last year.
Around 500 million euros is required but only just over half has been raised so far, with a target date of spring 2027 to muster the rest of the funds, the French finance ministry told AFP.
Even though the meeting was moved to Paris, Marseille will still host the launch of a network of 14 global ports uniting to combat drug trafficking, which has become a major scourge in the southern city, Barrot said.
