Key facts
- Four G7 diplomats said the Paris meeting is the first chance for allies to gauge whether US midterm losses change Washington's approach.
- The diplomats said Democratic gains could narrow the White House's room for manoeuvre but warned against expecting a return to traditional US multilateralism.
- The ministerial was moved at short notice from Marseille to Paris for security reasons after weeks of protests across France.
- Diplomats said Russia had shifted tactics toward systematically targeting energy infrastructure to try to trigger a nationwide winter blackout in Ukraine.
- Diplomats said shortages of Patriot interceptors and other air-defense systems were Kyiv's most urgent military vulnerability.
- France is pushing for a new UN-backed security framework in southern Lebanon and has floated options including a French-Italian international force.
G7 foreign ministers met in Paris on November 9, the first opportunity for Washington's allies to gauge whether a US midterm defeat for President Donald Trump alters the administration's approach to Ukraine, the Middle East and ties with its closest partners, according to four G7 diplomats cited by Reuters.
The diplomats said the Democrats' gains could narrow the White House's room for manoeuvre but warned against expecting a return to traditional US multilateralism while foreign policy remains very much under Trump's control. The meeting was moved at short notice from Marseille to Paris for security reasons after weeks of protests across France.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, viewed by the diplomats' account as a potential 2028 presidential contender, made his first appearance before allies since the elections. Besides France, the G7 includes Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, as well as the European Union. Ministers from Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea and Brazil also attended.
With Ukraine top of the agenda, the ministerial comes ahead of trilateral discussions on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Officials from France, Britain, Germany, NATO and the European Commission also aimed to be in the Emirati capital, though they were not expected to take part in the trilateral format.