US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet his Canadian counterpart at a G7 gathering Thursday, but discussion of American annexation threats has been ruled off-limits at talks expected to be dominated by efforts to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.Â
President Donald Trump expressed optimism that US negotiators could secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, even as Kyiv and Moscow launched fresh aerial attacks early Thursday.
A "very broad consensus" is emerging among European nations on boosting Ukraine's long-term security through the Ukrainian armed forces, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Wednesday after a meeting of Europe's five key defence powers in Paris.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiators are headed to Russia "right now" for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.
G7 foreign ministers will meet in Canada Wednesday to discuss moves to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shrugged off questions about a prospective takeover of his country's northern neighbor.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed Wednesday to Canada on the highest-level visit by the administration of President Donald Trump, who has unleashed a trade war described by the United States' neighbour as an existential challenge.
Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia in crunch talks in Jeddah on Tuesday after three years of grinding war.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called on military chiefs from across Europe and beyond to draw up a plan "to define credible security guarantees" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, the presidency said.
Faced by a menacing Russia and unreliable United States, the EU is pushing a mammoth plan to boost its defences that Brussels says could unlock up to 800 billion euros ($860 billion).
The EU's foreign affairs chief on Tuesday told the UN Security Council that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was just one of a rising number of cases where the "rule of force" has replaced international law.