G7 foreign ministers gather in Paris on Monday for their first opportunity to judge whether Donald Trump’s midterm defeat will change Washington’s approach to Ukraine, the Middle East and its closest allies, four G7 diplomats have said.
The diplomats signalled that the Democrats’ gains could narrow the White House’s room for manoeuvre, but they warned against expecting a return to traditional American multilateralism while foreign policy remains firmly under Mr Trump’s control.
The meeting was moved at short notice from Marseille to Paris for security reasons, after weeks of protests across France. It will see US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, viewed as a potential Republican contender in 2028, make his first appearance before allies since the elections.
Alongside France, the G7 comprises 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 are also attending.
Ukraine is at the top of the agenda. The ministerial comes a day before trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. Officials from France, Britain, Germany, NATO and the European Commission are also aiming to be in the Emirati capital, although they are not expected to take part in the trilateral format.
In a sign of friction among Europeans, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on 5 November that Europe risks becoming irrelevant in efforts to end the war in Ukraine if member states keep pursuing separate diplomatic tracks instead of agreeing on a common representative and strategy — an issue likely to come up in Paris.
The diplomats painted a sombre picture of the situation in Ukraine. While the front had largely stabilised, making major breakthroughs unlikely, they warned that Russia had shifted tactics towards systematically targeting energy infrastructure in an effort to trigger a nationwide winter blackout.
Shortages of Patriot interceptors and other air-defence systems were Kyiv’s most urgent military vulnerability, they said, and one objective of the Paris meeting would be to sustain pressure on Russia while mobilising additional military, financial and energy support for Ukraine.
Iran is also expected to feature prominently in the discussions. Washington’s G7 allies have repeatedly voiced scepticism over the war and fear further US military action could worsen rather than resolve the crisis.
The talks could also expose differences between Paris and Washington over Lebanon. France is pushing for discussions on a new UN-backed security framework to replace current arrangements in southern Lebanon and has floated options including a French-Italian international force. French officials privately acknowledge American reluctance to embrace some of those ideas, but diplomats said the G7 offers an opportunity to narrow differences as the expiry of the existing arrangements at the end of the year draws nearer.
The assessments of the meeting’s aims in this article come from diplomats speaking to Reuters; no government has publicly confirmed the agenda.
Sources: Reuters, “G7 allies to assess impact of Trump’s midterm setback at Paris talks” (9 November 2026), https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/g7-allies-assess-impact-trumps-midterm-setback-paris-talks-2026-11-09/
