US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said the UK and other European countries should have a place at the negotiating table to help broker peace in the Ukraine war. Speaking at the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris, the top American diplomat expressed his wish to extend participation in future talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine.
Mr Rubio argued that Europe "are a part of solving this problem for the long term". He also noted concerns from allies that "America's going to cut some deal with Russia and leaves Europe out of the equation". Mr Rubio previously indicated it was Moscow which opposed European involvement in the negotiations.
Talks in Abu Dhabi
His comments came as Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Abu Dhabi for peace talks, mediated by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and envoy, Steve Witkoff. Although not directly involved in the trilateral discussions, representatives from European countries held meetings on the sidelines, including UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
Mr Trump declared last week that there was going to be "a big, beautiful agreement" on Ukraine which "might involve all of Europe". However, he gave no further details on any proposed deal to end the conflict, triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion.
Pressure on Zelensky
Mr Trump has been ramping up pressure on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to reach a peace deal with Moscow, despite the Kyiv government being the victim of Kremlin aggression.
Speaking in Paris, Mr Rubio said: "It looks like the talks in Abu Dhabi were very productive. There's a lot of work to be done in that regard. It's not like something that's on the verge of being solved in the next 24 hours or anything like that."
Expanding the trilateral
Stressing the importance of European involvement, Mr Rubio said: "They've been working very closely with Jared and Steve, who were there on every step along the way. And it's actually our goal at some point to expand this trilateral, so it's not just the US, Ukraine, and Russia, but also that the Europeans be represented at that table directly with these talks."
He added: "I heard from my colleagues that there's always this concern in Europe that they're going to be left out, that America's going to cut some deal with Russia and leaves Europe out of the equation." But insisting "they're right alongside us", he went on: "We think the trilateral should eventually include our European partners at the table as well, because they are a part of solving this problem for the long term."
Military preparations
The diplomatic efforts in Abu Dhabi come as hundreds of British troops and RAF jets are due to take part in a major multinational wargame in Poland to prepare for potential peace in Ukraine. The UK and France are jointly leading Exercise Koalicja, involving 2,800 military forces from 11 nations, aimed at ensuring Nato forces are ready to provide Kyiv with security guarantees once the conflict is over.
Running until November 22, it will be the first major military exercise conducted by the Multinational Force Ukraine (MNF-U), the military arm of the Coalition of the Willing.
