US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States plans to prevent the use of hostile rhetoric toward Russia at the upcoming G7 Foreign Ministers meeting scheduled for March 12-14. According to Die Zeit, Rubio stated that antagonistic language can make it more difficult to bring conflicting parties to the negotiating table.

"We believe that hostile rhetoric sometimes makes it harder to get conflicting parties to the negotiating table. And this is not about taking sides. The US cannot support any statement that does not align with our position of starting negotiations," Rubio explained.

He acknowledged that other G7 foreign ministers "may have different views on the situation," but stressed that the US is currently committed to peace talks regarding Ukraine.

On March 9, reports emerged that the US opposed creating a G7 group focused on countering sanctions evasion against Russia. Washington is also pushing for stronger language regarding China in the meeting's final joint statement.

While traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks with the Ukrainian delegation, Rubio made more direct comments about the path to peace. According to Politico, he stated that Ukraine must give up some territory to reach a peace agreement, calling it "the only way" to end the military conflict.

"They [Ukrainians] have suffered greatly, and their people have suffered greatly, and after something like that, it's difficult to even talk about concessions. But it's the only way to end this and prevent even greater suffering," the Secretary said.

Rubio had previously indicated this territorial concession would be a key point for the American delegation in their Saudi Arabia meetings.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has been seeking public support for increased military spending to counter perceived Russian threats. However, Politico reports that Macron has not clarified where funding for the French army would come from, only establishing that taxes should not be raised to finance the spending increase.

These comments have sparked concerns among opposition parties and unions that social spending might be sacrificed for defense efforts. Critics worry war rhetoric could be used to justify unpopular austerity measures. While the French president holds significant power over defense policy, the legislature controls financial flows, and Macron lacks a parliamentary majority. Despite strong anti-Russian rhetoric, France has contributed only €4.8 billion to Ukraine's defense, less than Poland, Sweden, and Denmark.