It will be the first G7 meeting since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
While Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, hopes to reach agreement on a general statement on Ukraine, the Middle East and China, as well as another statement targeting Russia's shadow fleet, the U.S. is seeking to remove references to sanctions and Russia's war in Ukraine.
“Ultimately we can’t sign on to any communique that’s not consistent with our position to bring both sides to the table. We feel like antagonistic language sometimes makes it harder to bring parties to the table,” Rubio told reporters on March 10 as he flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for talks with Ukraine.
“We’re the only ones right now that seem to be in a position to make talks like that possible.”
The U.S. is also pushing for tougher language toward China.
Rubio is “confident” that the G7 ministers will eventually come up with a document that is meaningful and unifying without “undermining our ability to bring both sides to the table.”
Negotiations to find a compromise are still ongoing, with the possibility of two separate statements or a single statement being considered.
On March 11, Ukraine's top officials, including Presidential Administration Head Andrii Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, will hold crucial talks with Waltz, U.S. Special Representative for the Middle East Steven Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting is expected to focus heavily on securing a minerals agreement and smoothing relations with Washington.