European foreign ministers told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that Europe must participate in any settlement of Russia's war on Ukraine, as US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine opened in Abu Dhabi.
The appeal came during a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Paris. Germany's foreign minister Johann Wadephul said "Europe belongs at this table. There can be no solution without Europe – only with Europe."
Wadephul cautioned against fundamental changes to Europe's security architecture, a concern he attributed to Trump's recent rhetoric. He also urged Russia to abandon "maximalist demands" and warned the Abu Dhabi talks against becoming a "negotiation show."
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha is joining the Paris discussions on Tuesday. "No one has the right to decide our fate behind our backs," Sybiha said before arriving.
The Paris meeting overlaps with the two-day Abu Dhabi talks scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Wadephul said Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure show Moscow has not shown genuine willingness to negotiate.
Al Jazeera correspondent Rebecca Collard said the first day ended with "little clarity on US policy after the midterm elections" and that Tuesday's agenda includes Middle East instability and "the future of the multilateralism that has dominated relations among these countries for decades."