G7 Talks in Paris to Focus on Crises   11/09 06:10

   Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies began 
two days of talks in Paris on Monday as they grapple with multiple unresolved 
global crises amid questions about how U.S. President Donald Trump will 
approach foreign policy after his Republican Party's heavy losses in the 
midterm elections.

   PARIS (AP) -- Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized 
democracies began two days of talks in Paris on Monday as they grapple with 
multiple unresolved global crises amid questions about how U.S. President 
Donald Trump will approach foreign policy after his Republican Party's heavy 
losses in the midterm elections.

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio is likely to face questions about whether the 
administration will shift its positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, the Iran 
conflict, energy security and artificial intelligence. Those issues will 
dominate discussions among top diplomats from the U.S., Britain, Canada, 
France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Monday and Tuesday.

   It is Rubio's first overseas trip since last week's midterm elections that 
dealt Republicans severe losses and cost them control of Congress, partly 
because of deeply unpopular policies such as the Iran war. The talks also come 
amid major protests across Europe, including in the French capital.

   US politics likely to surface at allies' meeting 

   Asked about allies wanting to know what comes next after the elections, 
Rubio told reporters that the countries he is meeting with this week understand 
American politics and "they, too, have experienced divisions in government and 
divisions in their own system."

   There has been little sign that the Democrats' gains will affect Trump's 
strategy, and his first major personnel decision has installed Stephen Miller, 
a hard-line supporter who has advocated extreme positions on both domestic and 
foreign policy, as chief of staff.

   America's top diplomat is seen by many as presenting a gentler side to 
Trump's often brusque approach to both friends and foes, but there has been 
speculation -- that he has denied -- that he might choose to leave the 
administration early to prepare for a 2028 presidential run.

   Wars in Iran and Ukraine will be major topics 

   Trump has floated the idea of a partnership with Europe to bring Russia's 
war in Ukraine to an end. The president's envoys, Steve Witkoff and son-in-law 
Jared Kushner, are set to meet both Ukrainian and Russian officials in the 
United Arab Emirates this week to discuss potential compromises.

   Rubio said postwar security guarantees for Ukraine and the rest of Europe 
have been a top concern for allies.

   "There's been some advances made in what that architecture could look like 
post-conflict," Rubio said in Florida before flying to Paris. "Nothing's been 
finalized yet, and maybe some progress can be made in Abu Dhabi."

   German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said before traveling to Paris that 
"Europe must be part of the path to a solution" of the war in Ukraine.

   "It is very clear that Europe doesn't need a new security architecture, as 
Russia would have us believe, but simply the restoration of the existing 
security architecture," he said in a statement.

   At the same time, Qatari and other mediators have proposed an interim 
solution to end the deadlock over the conflict with Iran that has sent fuel 
prices soaring amid instability in key shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz 
and the Red Sea.

   Rubio said the sides are not on "the verge of a breakthrough," while 
reiterating that Trump prefers a diplomatic solution. But he noted of diplomacy 
that "right now, it hasn't been very productive because the Iranian demands are 
simply not just unacceptable."

   He said he expects allies to have a lot of questions about the conflict and 
next steps.

   Uncertainty about consensus, even among allies 

   The G7 talks follow a larger diplomatic gathering Rubio hosted in Atlanta 
just over a week ago for G20 foreign ministers. That meeting produced little 
consensus on major global issues.

   The G7 brings together seven major industrialized democracies, with the U.S. 
joined by six allies. Yet differences are again likely to complicate 
discussions. The French hosts have already signaled that the meeting will not 
produce a joint communique.

   France has invited Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine to participate in 
some discussions. Its other priorities include Africa, China, Cuba and Haiti. 
The French Foreign Ministry said there will be a meeting on artificial 
intelligence and a separate session on support for Ukraine.

   Shortly after arriving in Paris on Monday, Rubio posted on X that one of his 
priorities would be "pushing for real accountability at the U.N." The comment 
suggested the administration would maintain its demands for reform at the 
United Nations. It has already withdrawn from several U.N. and other 
multilateral bodies.

   Trump and his administration have unsettled America's G7 partners over 
issues including support for Ukraine and NATO and opposition to the 
International Criminal Court. All G7 members except Japan, which has a separate 
treaty alliance with the U.S., belong to NATO.

   The administration is pushing to dismantle the ICC, an international war 
crimes court to which all G7 members except the U.S. belong. It has imposed 
severe sanctions on the court and several of its employees, saying the ICC is 
trying to investigate Americans.

   Allies have been told that "if they don't want us to take these actions 
against the ICC, then they should convince the ICC to wake up and realize that 
they do not have jurisdiction over citizens of countries that are not members," 
Rubio said Sunday.