G7 foreign ministers meet in Paris as Ukraine talks loom

The foreign ministers of the G7 group of leading industrialized democracies are set to seek a common position on wars and crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, starting on Monday.

Just under a week after US President Donald Trump's Republicans suffered a crushing defeat in midterm elections, US top diplomat Marco Rubio also plans to attend the talks in Paris.

The meeting comes five weeks before the G20 summit of major industrial and emerging economies in the US.

Russia had dampened expectations on Friday after Trump announced a major agreement on Ukraine. Moscow saw no willingness so far from Europe to discuss questions of a future security system on the continent, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added that Europeans had not even appointed a negotiator so far. 

Ukraine and Russia are set to hold US-mediated talks on a possible end to the war that Moscow launched in 2022, on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. It is the first such round since February. Europeans are not involved.

The G7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is represented as a permanent participant at all meetings.

Grain blockade threatens hunger crisis

G7 ministers are also hosting Luke Lindberg, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), on Monday, alongside counterparts from Ukraine, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and South Korea.

Talks with him are expected to cover grain shipments across the Black Sea that are blocked because of the war in Ukraine. 

They are also expected to address the resulting threat of a hunger crisis in parts of Middle East and the Global South.

Iran has intensified its attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for trade in oil, gas and fertilizer.