U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts from the Group of Seven developed democracies are turning their attention toward Ukraine and how to support it in its struggle to defend itself from Russia.
As three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States got underway in the United Arab Emirates, top G7 diplomats were meeting Tuesday with Ukraine’s foreign minister in France.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha started his day in Paris in talks with Rubio before heading to the French foreign ministry for a larger group meeting with the entire G7. Neither man spoke as they posed for photos ahead of their discussion.
The State Department said afterwards in a brief statement that the pair had “discussed negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, energy resilience, and defense cooperation.”
The larger meeting was expected to cover defense and security assistance to Ukraine, which the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has reduced, causing consternation not only in Kyiv but in capitals across Europe, the largest of which — Paris, Berlin, Rome and London — are G7 members.
RELATED STORY | Trilateral talks between US, Ukraine and Russia to resume this week
It was not immediately clear if the U.S. or any of its G7 partners would announce any new assistance for Ukraine.
Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner began talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in part to persuade Moscow to agree to broader negotiations that would include key European officials on how to end nearly five years of war.
In Paris, Europeans have been clamoring for a seat at the table in Abu Dhabi, but two U.S. officials said Monday that representatives from Britain, Germany, France, NATO and the European Union would not join the main talks but rather discuss potential security guarantees and the long-term security architecture between Russia and Europe beforehand.
Russia has resisted European participation in negotiations and insisted the talks should proceed strictly as a trilateral format involving Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. The three last held talks in February.
But on Monday in Paris, German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul, who met separately with Rubio on the sidelines of the G7, was emphatic that Europe must be included.
RELATED STORY | Drone and missile attacks wound 9 as Ukraine prepares for talks with Russia and the US
“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 U.S. has no objection to eventual European involvement in the direct talks, but that it wasn’t yet time.
“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.”
On the eve of the talks, Russia battered Ukraine’s power grid again on Monday and Ukrainian forces hit another of Russia’s biggest oil refineries.
The two countries remain locked in battle with no sign that either side is ready to budge from their demands. The war has already killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, analysts and humanitarian organizations say.
