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Secretary of State Marco Rubio found himself among allies in a fraught moment after President Trump’s tariff policies.
March 14, 2025, 4:56 p.m. ET
Despite high tensions between the Trump administration and some of America’s closest allies over tariffs and Ukraine, foreign ministers from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies who were meeting this week in Canada forged common ground in a communiqué that glossed over many of their sharp differences.
Top diplomats from Canada, the host of the gathering, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union meeting at the idyllic resort town of La Malbaie in Charlevoix, Quebec, presented a cautiously united front, notably on Ukraine, a key point of divergence since President Trump took office.
In a statement released on Friday, the group affirmed its support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and committed to supporting the “political aspirations” of Israelis and Palestinians, although it did not mention support for a two-state solution.
Reaching some consensus on Ukraine and Russia was considered a feat given Mr. Trump’s public criticism of Kyiv, although the group’s language on the subject was less vehement than in past years.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio found himself among allies in difficult circumstances, especially with his Canadian hosts, who resent Mr. Trump’s talk of annexing their country and turning it into “the 51st state.”
That rhetoric, which loomed over the 48 hours that ministers spent together in Quebec, drew a sharp rebuke from Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, who told reporters on Friday that she had told Mr. Rubio that “Canada’s sovereignty is not up to debate, period.”
