G7 allies press Rubio on US Iran plans
G7 allies were on Friday pressing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for clarity on American plans for Iran almost one month into the war in the Middle East, with concern also intensifying over the extent of cooperation between Russia and the Islamic republic.
Having skipped the first day of the meeting at the historic monastery turned luxury hotel complex outside Paris, Rubio arrived at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey for a full day of talks with counterparts from leading industrialised democracies.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the international community needed to collaborate even more closely now it was dealing with two wars -- including the conflict sparked by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine -- in which Russia and Iran were cooperating.
"We need to strengthen our unity. Given that Iran and Russia are working together in the closest way, we must stand even closer together," Wadephul told reporters.
He told German radio earlier ahead of the talks that allies needed to know "how the US will proceed" in Iran. Rubio, he said, would "perhaps explain this more precisely".
In contrast to usual protocol, and in a sign of the distance between the United States and its allies, there is to be no joint communique at the end of the meeting.
Instead, the G7 presidency, which France holds this year, will issue a statement, said a diplomatic source who asked not to be named.
- 'For the world' -
The UK's foreign minister Yvette Cooper urged a "swift resolution to this conflict that restores regional stability".
She echoed concerns over the ongoing de facto blockade by Iran of the key Strait of Hormuz, which has driven up global oil prices and left vessels queueing up to enter the energy bottleneck.
"Frankly, Iran cannot be able to just hold the global economy hostage as a result of a Strait which is about international shipping routes and the freedom of navigation," she said.
It is Rubio's first trip abroad since the United States and Israel launched the war with the air strikes on February 28 that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Before leaving for France, Rubio said Thursday that it was in the "interest" of all G7 nations to push for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Defending the war, he said: "The president is not just doing a favour to the United States and to our people. This is for the world."
- 'Play into Putin's hands' -
With Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in attendance, European ministers are keen to emphasise support for Kyiv must not be forgotten over four years after Russia's full-scale invasion.
"Putin is cynically hoping that the escalation in the Middle East will divert our attention from his crimes in Ukraine," Wadephul said.
"This calculation must not succeed," he said, warning that any compromising on Ukraine's defence capabilities would "play into Putin's hands".
Writing on X, in his first comment on the meeting, Rubio said he had reiterated at the G7 "that President Trump is committed to reaching a ceasefire and negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible".
France is eager to broaden the scope of the elite G7 club -- whose origins go back to the first G6 summit held in the nearby Chateau de Rambouillet in 1975 -- and which now comprises Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, UK and United States.
It has invited foreign ministers from key emerging markets Brazil and India, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
The event is leading up to a G7 summit in the French Alpine lakeside resort of Evian in June to be chaired by President Emmanuel Macron.
The South African presidency Thursday alleged Washington had urged Paris to disinvite President Cyril Ramaphosa from that summit. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Kenya -- rather than South Africa -- had been invited.
"we did not give in to any pressure," he said.
