The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, will meet with French leaders in Paris on the day of the day, on April 17, to discuss the war in Ukraine, said his office, in the midst of agitated efforts to persuade Russia to accept a high fire.
Rubio and the presidential envoy of the United States Steve Witkoff would also discuss tensions about Iran’s nuclear program and the problematic points of the Middle East, in conversations with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, according to a French diplure source.
Specific proposals for conversations have not been made public, but with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in an attempt to press the efforts of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, for a high fire.
Trump promised himself before assuming the position that the war of war would end quickly since the invasion of Russia in February 2022 of neighboring Ukraine, and has expressed frustration for Moscow’s tactics.
Witkoff said this week, however, after his third meeting with Putin, that he still sees a “emerging” peace agreement.
Rubio will be on his third trip to Europe since he became the main American diplomat, since he already attended the Munich Security Conference and an NATO meeting in February and March.
For Europe, Ukraine has become more critical after the recent Russian missile attacks in two Ukrainian cities that left dead civilians.
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Barot said Wednesday that Putin “has shown again that cruelty is unlimited and that it has no intention of starting a fire” as proposed by the United States and Ukraine last month.
France, Great Britain and Germany were surprised by Trump’s opening conversations to improve ties with Russia, but have sought a coordinated European response to protect Ukraine, last the conflict and in any high fire.
Great Britain and France have proposed a mainly European “tranquility” force prepared to go to Ukraine if a fire begins. However, many European leaders say it would need US support.
The State Department only said that Rubio and Witkoff would meet with European officials to discuss Trump’s efforts to “move forward” in the objective of stopping the Ukraine War.
A French diplomatic source said Rubio and Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear archive.”
The United States and Iran will carry out a second round of indirect conversations about Iran’s nuclear program in Rome on Saturday.
The conversations have become more important after Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations Nuclear Control Agency, warned Wednesday that Iran was “not far away” from having a nuclear bomb.
The conversations to end the Gaza War have also stagnated, with Israel blocking the humanitarian aid of entering the Palestinian territory. The UN says that Gaza now faces ITT’s humanitarian crisis from the beginning of the war in October 2023, after Hamas attacks.
Separately, French defense minister, Sébastien Lecornu, will travel to Washington on Thursday.
He was ready to meet with the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Pete Hegseeth, for conversations also dominated by Ukraine, Iran and Gaza. Lecornu was also expected to meet with the national director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Keith Kellogg, sent from Trump’s Ukraine.
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