Trump’s secretary of state finally calls Europe back after skipped meeting

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas finally got U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the phone Tuesday after POLITICO reported Rubio skipped a meeting with foreign ministers, leading to fears Brussels was being frozen out.

Posting on X, Kallas said that the pair “discussed global issues where the EU and US have the same interests, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran’s malign influence and challenges posed by China.”

“The EU and US are always stronger together,” added Kallas.

Rubio, new in the role, was invited to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers but did not attend, even virtually.

His apparent blanking of the invitation caused some officials in Brussels to worry that President Donald Trump’s administration was shirking the EU in favor of building relationships with national figures, as part of a strategy to weaken the bloc.

Kallas said in her post she was looking forward to meeting Rubio soon but did not say a date to meet was set.