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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U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
Torrential rain and flooding in eastern Spain have killed at least four people, forced thousands to evacuate and left tens of thousands of residents under shelter-in-place orders, as emergency crews rescued people stranded on rooftops.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level across both of his presidential terms, while Democrats have widened their lead over Republicans ahead of the 3 November congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Tajikistan on Sunday for an official visit and a major regional summit, with security, trade and transport links high on the agenda as Beijing strengthens its ties with Central Asia.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
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