G7: expert says Europe will maintain its support for Ukraine
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on France 24
James Townsend, a senior adviser at the Atlantic Council, believes the G7 meeting in Paris signals to Moscow that European support for Ukraine will last, alongside the Abu Dhabi negotiations. According to him, the final communiqué will test what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is willing to sign, France 24 reports.
"Europe is not going anywhere." That is the assessment of James Townsend, senior adviser at the Atlantic Council (Scowcroft Center for Transatlantic Security), a guest on France 24 speaking about the G7 ministers' meeting in Paris. According to him, European support for Ukraine is set to last, and Moscow should not mistake diplomatic negotiations for a weakening of Western resolve.
The Paris meeting is taking place alongside the trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi. James Townsend sees it as a test of Western cohesion, of the credibility of future military and financial aid, and of Washington’s willingness to endorse a common position on Ukraine. The final communiqué will be, he said, "a test as far as what Marco Rubio is going to agree to put his name to", referring to the US Secretary of State.
This analysis comes in the context of the G7 ministers' meeting in Paris, which opened on 9 November to assess the effect of the midterms on US diplomacy. On 10 November, Marco Rubio described the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Abu Dhabi as "very productive".
