US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Gaza wars, will travel to Paris this week, Politico reported on 16 April.
Witkoff is scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. Rubio will hold discussions with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, according to two sources familiar with the trip preparations.
“Rubio will be in Paris this week before heading to Africa,” a US official told Politico on condition of anonymity.
The Paris meetings will address Ukraine, Iran and trade relations “in the wake of Trump’s tariff threats,” an official familiar with the trip preparations said.
Witkoff’s meeting with Macron comes shortly after the envoy had a more than four-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s St. Petersburg on 11 Apri to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. This Moscow meeting occurred after Russia-US talks had stalled in recent weeks.
The White House press secretary characterized the Moscow encounter as “another step in the negotiating process towards a ceasefire” despite President Trump’s “frustration” with the situation.
Macron has been spearheading European efforts to provide security guarantees to Kyiv. These guarantees include the possible deployment of a “reassurance force” in Ukraine if a truce is reached.
This Paris trip represents the first high-level visit by American officials to France since Vice President JD Vance attended an artificial intelligence summit in February.
Trade tensions will likely be included to discussions as well. Macron recently said that Trump’s decision to suspend his “most punishing tariffs for 90 days offers only a ‘fragile’ pause in tensions.”
Read also:
- Rubio, Lavrov discuss working towards restoring US-Russia communication
- Why Ukraine’s concessions won’t “prevent suffering”: war crime records expose what Rubio misses about Russia
- Trump’s envoy Witkoff meets with Putin, advocates giving Russia four Ukrainian regions
