Trump foreign policy won't change: Rubio

Paris: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Republican losses in the midterm elections will not affect the Trump administration's approach to foreign policy, with clear differences on global crises emerging among top diplomats from Group of 7 allies who gathered Monday in Paris.Rubio, who spoke to reporters after talks with his counterparts from the G7 industrialised democracies, said President Donald Trump will decide US policies as he sees fit, regardless of his Republican Party's wipeout in the midterms.Also read | US: Senate advances sweeping energy legislation in first major action since midterm electionsHe said Trump is intent on ending conflicts with Iran and between Russia and Ukraine but that the United States will maintain an "America First" approach on the world stage."Congress has a role to play in our foreign policy, particularly on what it funds and in its oversight function, but the No. 1 factor in determining foreign policy has always been and will remain the president," Rubio said.The Paris meeting is Rubio's first overseas trip since Democrats seized control of Congress, partly because of deeply unpopular administration policies such as the Iran war. Allies have raised questions this week about whether the Trump administration would shift its positions. Uncertainty about consensus even among alliesWhether on the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran or the International Criminal Court, the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan appeared far apart as two days of talks got underway, although all agreed on the need to end the conflicts as quickly as possible.Rubio said the US would not back down on its opposition to the international war crimes court, which the other G7 members belong to but the Trump administration wants to dismantle.On the Russia-Ukraine war, Rubio declined to offer a prediction about the prospects for talks that begin Tuesday in Abu Dhabi between Russia, Ukraine and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. But he said the Trump administration would keep trying to mediate a deal."Your chances of success are zero if you're not trying, so we're going to continue to try," he said.On the question of artificial intelligence, Rubio said the US opposed efforts to rein in the technology promoted by some G7 members, while acknowledging the need to balance mitigating the dangers the rapidly developing technology poses."We're very concerned about these global institutions trying to regulate something that would stifle innovation," he said. "We don't think that's the right approach from our perspective." US politics surface at G7 meetingAlthough Rubio said the US political situation was not raised in the meetings, several of his colleagues made clear that it was a question that needs to be addressed.Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, whose country has faced withering criticism and insults from Trump, said how Washington will proceed is an open question."In terms of the US and its approach, I will say that the president has executive powers," she told reporters in Paris. "The House and the Senate have changed leadership, so it's very much a question of what the approach will be."European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe also wanted to see how the midterms would affect US policy."The midterm elections showed the will of American people and the elections always bring results also in terms of policy changes," she told reporters. "We are willing to work with whatever Congress or Senate or administration there is to really focus on the issues that we do together and focus on the issues where we can have maximum impact together."Yet there has been little sign that the Democrats' gains will affect Trump's strategy, and his first major personnel decision has been to install Stephen Miller, a hard-line supporter who has advocated extreme positions on both domestic and foreign policy, as chief of staff.Rubio is seen by many as presenting a gentler side to Trump's often brusque approach to both friends and foes, but there has been speculation - which he has denied - that he might choose to leave the administration early to prepare for a 2028 presidential run. He declined again Monday to talk about the 2028 race. Wars in Iran, Ukraine major topicsTrump has floated the idea of a partnership with Europe to end Russia's war in Ukraine as the US brokers talks between the sides this week.Rubio said postwar security guarantees for Ukraine and the rest of Europe have been a top concern for allies. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said "the Europeans are, of course, ready to take part in discussions about the future of security across the continent. But the first step is to end the war."German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who met separately with Rubio, said Europe must be part of any resolution."I am still very grateful to the United States of America for making every effort to get the parties to the conflict to the table," Wadephul said. "But I made clear again here…