G7 ministers press Rubio on Ukraine peace deal, Iran tensions

PARIS, Nov 9: G7 top diplomats on Monday began a two-day meeting in Paris with European foreign ministers set to press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure any settlement in the war with Russia is fair to Ukraine and steer clear of any new escalation with Iran.

The meeting of ministers from the leading industrialised nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States provides Europe and its allies with a chance to air concerns with their US counterpart.

The meeting coincides with US-mediated talks with Moscow and Kyiv in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, on ending the Ukraine war.

"For Europe, it is clear: we do not need to establish a new security architecture for Europe," said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul as he headed to the talks, adding Europe "must have a place at the table".

But before leaving for Paris, Rubio said the post-war security infrastructure of Europe is "one of the key topics that's been raised repeatedly in every conversation any time negotiations have been discussed".
"We obviously have to get past the conflict to get to that point," he noted.

On the sidelines of the Paris meeting, G7 member Canada on Monday announced fresh sanctions on Russia.

It added 38 entities and 24 individuals to its list of over 3,500 sanctioned targets "to further reduce Russia's military capabilities".

On Iran, Trump has not ruled out new strikes, including at so-called Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear site which Tehran denies is such a facility.

Europeans, however, are eager to see a resolution and shipping traffic return to normal in the Strait of Hormuz energy transit hub.

Trump allayed some fears by telling CNN it was "highly unlikely" that fighting would resume.

"We certainly cannot afford any military escalation at this point," said Wadephul, adding the G7 talks would "focus on identifying ways to ensure it is indeed avoided".

Rubio warned however there had been "no progress" in talks with Iran whose demands he said were "simply not just unacceptable but, in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic".

The ministerial meeting, one of the final acts of the French G7 presidency, had been scheduled to be held in the southern port city of Marseille.�"AFP