Washington (AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was headed Wednesday to Paris for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, his office said. The State Department said Rubio was traveling with US envoy Steve Witkoff to meet European officials on the goal of stopping the war triggered by Russia’s invasion in 2022. A French diplomatic source said Rubio and France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file.”
US President Donald Trump’s push for a ceasefire has yet to bear fruit, and a deadly Russian strike Sunday on Ukraine’s Sumy showed how the war is still taking a hefty toll, even as peace efforts are under way. Witkoff said Monday, three days after holding his third meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that he himself sees a peace deal “emerging.”
Talks to end the Gaza war have also stalled, with Israel saying Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian territory, where a relentless military offensive has turned the region into a “mass grave,” according to medical charity Doctors Without Borders. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said blocking aid to the besieged territory of 2.4 million people was a means of pressure on Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Paris talks also come as discussions between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program were held Saturday in Oman. Another round is scheduled for April 19, also in Oman.
© 2024 AFP
