- Title: With unpredictable US, G7 allies meet amid shadow of Iran, Ukraine wars
- Date: 25th March 2026
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 23, 2026) (REUTERS) GOMART LISTENING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF FRENCH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (IFRI), THOMAS GOMART, SAYING: “We had major macro impacts in 2022 with the rupture of the energy relation between Russia and the European market, even if it's not a complete rupture and we have a macroeconomic effect because
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: G7 Rubio Trump foreign ministers
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: France
- Topics: Europe,G7,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00C730125032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Foreign ministers from the world’s leading Western democracies meet in France on Thursday (March 26) and Friday (March 27) against the backdrop of wars in Iran and Ukraine, economic uncertainty and mounting unease over an increasingly unpredictable U.S. foreign policy.
The two‑day gathering at the restored 12th-century Abbaye des Vaux‑de‑Cernay, about 40 km southwest of Paris, brings together ministers from the G7 – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – alongside the European Union.
The grouping, which first met as six in nearby Rambouillet 50 years ago, traditionally approached its core economic and geopolitical challenges with a broad consensus.
That cohesion has frayed since Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency in 2025.
Allies and adversaries alike have spent the past year scrambling to respond to abrupt U.S. policy shifts, from tariffs to Ukraine, and now the Middle East conflict, which European diplomats and officials say lacks clear objective or an exit strategy.
"The US attitude is an element of destabilisation of the international system for all players, not only for members of the G7, but also for China, for many, many countries in the world," Thomas Gomart, director of the French Institute of International Relations.
Although the U.S. is still guarantees the security of G7 partners, Gomart said, the six other members must learn to work without it, or mitigate crises at times when the Trump administration does not engage in multilateral policymaking.
A top priority for Washington’s partners will be a debriefing from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will
attend the meeting's second day on Friday.
Officials said allies are hoping to get greater clarity on the U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran and on whether any meaningful diplomatic channel exists to end the conflict.
Talks will also focus on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed, choking about a fifth of global oil supplies.
Ministers from Brazil, India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, all key economic heavyweights whose alignment is pivotal on global security, energy and diplomatic crises, will also attend.
Ukraine's foreign minister will attend the talks.
With negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine stalled, European officials fear that the United States, which has led negotiation efforts and pursued a rapprochement with Moscow, could push Kyiv into an unfavourable peace deal ahead of U.S. mid-term elections in November.
European officials said they would stress to Rubio that such an outcome would be unacceptable, arguing instead for tougher sanctions on Russia and immediate efforts to prepare Ukraine for another winter of war.
The meeting also feeds into French priorities ahead of its G7 leaders' summit in the Alps next June, including how to address global imbalances and the crisis of multilateralism.
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