U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declined a meeting request from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Politico reported, amid continued tensions between the European Union and the Trump administration.
According to the report, even officials in the White House who are typically supportive of EU engagement have shown limited interest in holding bilateral discussions with Kallas on the U.S. proposal for resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
Kallas has continued consultations with European governments, with Politico noting that she has taken on a more assertive role in talks among EU member states.
Rubio’s decision marks an unusual diplomatic development that underscores the cooling of high-level engagement between Washington and Brussels.
In remarks delivered in Geneva in November, Rubio said that the involvement of the EU and NATO in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict still required further consideration. Kallas has previously stated that the EU maintains its own two-point approach focused on weakening Russia’s ability to wage war and supporting Ukraine. (GSF)
