PARIS – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his fellow Group of 7 foreign ministers are focusing on Ukraine and ways to help it withstand Russia’s invasion. As Russia, Ukraine and the United States begin three-way discussions in the United Arab Emirates, the G7’s top diplomats are meeting Tuesday in France with Ukraine’s foreign minister.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is scheduled to begin the day in Paris with talks with Rubio before joining the full G7 meeting at the French Foreign Ministry. The discussions will center on defense and security assistance for Ukraine—support the administration of President Donald Trump has scaled back, raising concern in Kyiv and across Europe. France, Germany, Italy and Britain, among Europe’s largest powers, are all G7 members.
It was not immediately known whether the United States or any of its G7 partners would announce additional aid for Ukraine.
In Abu Dhabi, Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are meeting Russian and Ukrainian officials. Part of their effort is aimed at persuading Moscow to accept broader negotiations involving key European officials on ending the nearly five-year war.
European governments have pressed for a role in the Abu Dhabi discussions. However, two U.S. officials said Monday that representatives from Britain, Germany, France, NATO and the European Union would not take part in the main talks. Instead, they would discuss possible security guarantees and the long-term security framework between Russia and Europe beforehand.
Russia has opposed European involvement in the negotiations and maintained that the discussions should remain strictly trilateral, involving only Russia, Ukraine and the United States. The three countries last held talks in February.
But German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who met separately with Rubio on the sidelines of the G7 gathering in Paris on Monday, insisted that Europe must be part of the process.
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“I am still very grateful to the United States of America for making every effort to get the parties to the conflict to the table,” he said. “But I made clear again here that Europe belongs at this table. There can be no solution without Europe, only with Europe.”
Rubio said the United States would not oppose European participation in direct negotiations eventually, but indicated that the time was not yet right.
“Ultimately, it would be a positive, but we’ve got a ways to go,” he told reporters after a full day of group and bilateral meetings with G7 counterparts. “But, no, it’s good that they’re talking, it’s good that the trilateral talks are on again. It’s better than not having talks.”
The talks began after Russia again struck Ukraine’s power grid on Monday, while Ukrainian forces attacked another of Russia’s largest oil refineries.
The two countries remain locked in a war with neither side showing signs of backing away from its demands. Analysts and humanitarian organizations say the conflict has already killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians.
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