President Donald Trump's restrictions on foreign aid and targeting of a key agency funding programs around the world may be offering an opening to America's biggest adversary — China.

From the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development to quitting international groups, Trump's drastic "America First" moves have raised concerns among some lawmakers and experts about whether the U.S. is ceding global influence to its rivals, especially at a time when Washington is fretting over Beijing's growing clout at the cost to American interests.

German voters go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament that will determine how the country is run for the next four years.

Europe's biggest economy is the 27-nation European Union's most populous nation and a leading member of NATO, as well as the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine, after the United States, following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Germany's next government will be central to Europe's response to an assertive new U.S. administration.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in South Africa on Thursday for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a high-profile absentee.

Lavrov traveled to Johannesburg for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting two days after landmark bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined the U.S.'s European allies and Ukraine, who were not involved.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the leading rich and developing nations that starts on Thursday after criticizing host South Africa's policies as anti-American.

Instead, Rubio was headed back to the United States on Wednesday from his first trip to the Middle East as America's chief diplomat, and after leading a U.S. delegation in talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that he rated talks between the U.S. and Russia held in Saudi Arabia "highly", describing them as a "first step" to restore relations with Washington.

NATO members continued their largest combat exercises of 2025 on Wednesday, testing their ability to rapidly deploy large-scale forces on the 32-nation alliance's eastern border as worries grow over its most powerful member, the United States.

The drills in Romania, which borders Ukraine, come as a shaken Europe grapples with a new U.S. course under President Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded that allies dramatically ramp up military spending and said U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere — casting doubts on Washington's longstanding security guarantees provided to Europe.

Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries' top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of living in a Russian-made "disinformation space," pointed comments that risk further souring relations with Washington as the American leader pushes for an end to the war.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with Trump, a day after senior American and Russian officials held talks that were partially aimed at preparing just such a summit.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Wednesday with the leader of the United Arab Emirates, wrapping up an overseas trip that saw the highest-level outreach between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Rubio's talk with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, comes as the U.S. also tries to continue a shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday criticized talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia as talks about the war in Ukraine without Ukrainian participation.