Two of President Donald Trump's top national security aides plan to hold talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday as the United States and Europe search for common ground on ending the Ukraine war and averting an Iran conflict.
French government spokesperson Sophie Primas told reporters on Wednesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff would visit France soon.
Primas added that they would broadly discuss issues in the Middle East with French officials, saying: "All subjects regarding the Middle East will be on the table."
Separately, on Thursday, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will travel to Washington to meet with his counterpart, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as with Keith Kellogg, Trump's Ukraine envoy, and Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, the ministry said.
The two advisers, , are expected to hear European concerns about Russia amid U.S. attempts to arrange an elusive ceasefire in Ukraine three years after Russia invaded its neighbor.
Trump's frustration with Russia and Ukraine over the ongoing bloodshed between them has been growing and he has been threatening military action against Iranian nuclear facilities.
European leaders have grown more concerned as Trump has made diplomatic gestures to Russian President Vladimir Putin and applied pressure on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"I'm just trying to get it stopped so that we can save a lot of lives," Trump told reporters on Sunday.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday he hoped Trump and his administration would see that Putin was "mocking their goodwill" following Moscow's deadly missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Besides Macron, the French foreign ministry said Rubio will also meet his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to discuss Ukraine, prospects for a new Iran nuclear deal and the Middle East.
Witkoff plans to fly for a second round of discussions on Saturday with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi about Iran's nuclear program. They met for 45 minutes last Saturday in Oman.
Both sides described last weekend's talks as positive while acknowledging that any potential deal remains distant.
Trump said on Monday he was willing to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities if a deal was not reached.
On Tuesday, he held a meeting with top national security advisers at the White House focused on Iran's nuclear program, according to sources familiar with the encounter.
The United States had not told European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before Trump announced them, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Tehran. Thursday's talks will be a key opportunity for potential coordination between U.S. and Europe.
Trump has restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran since February, after the U.S. leader ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.
"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters.
The Munich Security Conference concludes on Sunday (15 February) with discussions centred on Europe’s role in an increasingly unstable global landsc...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 15th of February, covering the latest developments you need to...
Australia will spend A$3.9bn to build a new shipyard for AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, marking a ma...
Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said on Saturday (14 February) they are convinced that late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poi...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia’s decision to change the leadership of its delegation for upcoming peace talks ...
“Real security guarantees are needed before the war ends,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (14 February), warning that Russian aggression shows no sign of relenting.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared the end of the "world order" as the 2026 Munich Security Conference opened, warning of an era of “big power politics” driven by Russia, China and shifting U.S. leadership.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday (February 3) one day after the U.S. and India signed a trade deal.
Tech mogul Elon Musk's social media platform X is under scrutiny by the European Union over its AI tool Grok. Concerned officials state the technology may have been used to generate sexualised images of real people in the European Union.
American figure skating star Ilia Malinin endured a dramatic collapse in the men’s free skate on Friday night, falling twice and tumbling out of medal contention at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov surged to a surprise gold medal.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said China has the power to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that Beijing is enabling Moscow’s military campaign.
“Respected and feared globally,” U.S. President Donald Trump told troops at Fort Bragg on Friday (13 February), framing America’s renewed strength against to mounting pressure on Iran amid stalled nuclear talks.
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped down following mounting pressure linked to alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaking at Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha calls for decisive steps ahead of expected Geneva talks
The Munich Security Conference concludes on Sunday (15 February) with discussions centred on Europe’s role in an increasingly unstable global landscape, including security coordination, economic competitiveness and the protection of democratic values.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 15th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Australia will spend A$3.9bn to build a new shipyard for AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, marking a major step in the trilateral defence pact with the U.S. and Britain.
Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said on Saturday (14 February) they are convinced that late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin in a Russian penal colony two years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia’s decision to change the leadership of its delegation for upcoming peace talks in Geneva appeared to be an attempt to delay progress.
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