G7 Diplomats Meet in Canada for Talks Focused on Ukraine, Middle East

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) will meet in Canada on Nov. 12 to discuss a variety of issues, including the war in Ukraine and the Gaza cease-fire deal.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will host U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their counterparts from the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Along with representatives from the member states, the foreign ministers of Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Ukraine were also invited to attend, according to Canada’s foreign ministry.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she expected focused conversations about the “long path forward” to peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“We have to be ambitious for the objective of long-lasting peace,” she said.

She added that the Gaza peace plan must be upheld.

Rubio announced his arrival in Canada with a post on X, saying he would continue pursuing President Donald Trump’s “vision of peace through strength.”

“We’re tackling a range of critical issues with one main focus: putting the safety and security of Americans FIRST,” he wrote.

Relations between Ottawa and Washington have been strained in recent months following Trump’s imposition of tariffs and his comments about Canada becoming the 51st state.

“Every complex relationship has numerous touch points,” Anand said. “On the trade file, there is continued work to be done, just as there is work to be done on the numerous touch points outside the trade file, and that’s where Secretary Rubio and I come in because the relationship has to continue across a range of issues.”

The G7 ministers will also meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha early on Nov. 12.

Ahead of the summit, the UK said it would be sending 13 million pounds ($17 million) to help fix up Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter draws near. The funds will go toward repairing power, heating, and water supplies, as well as humanitarian support for Ukrainians.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is trying to plunge Ukraine into darkness and the cold as winter approaches,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Nov. 12. “These cowardly strikes are not only an attack on Ukraine’s security, but a threat to the UK’s economic security, stability and growth.”

Anand said on Oct. 31 that Canada was sending CA$10 million ($7.1 million) for the same purpose.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake meeting follows on from the G7 heads of government and state meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, which took place in June.

That meeting was notable for Trump’s departure for Washington a day earlier than planned as he worked to bring an end to the then-ongoing war between Israel and Iran.

The Middle East also dominated the agenda at that meeting, culminating in the leaders condemning Iran and labeling the Islamic Republic “the principal source of regional instability and terror.”

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei lambasted the statement from the G7 at the time, describing it as containing “one-sided rhetoric” and showing a disregard for “Israel’s [blatant] aggression against Iran.”

Baqaei said in a June statement posted on X that the G7 leaders “have to call a spade a spade” and accused Israel of “unlawful attacks on our peaceful nuclear infrastructure.”

“The path to regional stability requires an immediate end to Israel’s aggression and accountability for its violations of international law,” he said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.