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.
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Foreign aid and its political implications are at the centre of public debate in Georgia with mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze echoing U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's stance on USAID.
The United States is not concerned about a potential escalation with Russia over Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, as President Donald Trump increases U.S. military deployments in the Caribbean.
The United States says it is working to secure a renewed ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, expressing cautious optimism that an agreement could be reached early next week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said it could be a 'pivotal week' for diplomacy on Ukraine as she arrived at an EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (1 December).
New York placed the state under emergency measures on Friday as a powerful winter storm brought the heaviest snowfall since 2022, disrupting travel across the north-east of the United States.
Polish fighter jets on Thursday intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near Poland’s airspace over the Baltic Sea and escorted it away from their area of responsibility.
Russia launched missiles and drones at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine overnight on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, ahead of talks on Sunday between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending nearly four years of war.
The United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government, President Donald Trump and the U.S. military said on Thursday.
Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent state on Friday, drawing strong condemnation from Somalia and regional and international organisations.
Canada will provide an additional $2.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a stopover in Halifax ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States.
New York placed the state under emergency measures on Friday as a powerful winter storm brought the heaviest snowfall since 2022, disrupting travel across the north-east of the United States.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 27th of December, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to halt weeks of fierce border clashes, the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian neighbours, which has included fighter jet sorties, rocket fire and artillery barrages, on Saturday.
Russia plans to modernise its nuclear triad, strengthen ground forces, and develop a universal air defence system as part of its new State Armament Programme for 2027–2036, the Kremlin announced on Friday.
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