German and Russian foreign ministers Johann Wadephul and Sergey Lavrov met on U.N. sidelines Saturday, in what was believed to be their first one-on-one since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Wadephul said improved ties required Russia’s genuine willingness to end the war.
A German delegation official said Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and NATO. The dpa news agency reported that the roughly 20-minute meeting was held in a room provided by Russia and ended with a handshake. Later, Lavrov defended the war in his General Assembly address and opposed Germany or Japan gaining permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council.
Zelenskyy said Washington was pushing for technical talks among U.S., Ukrainian and Russian delegations, not top leaders, and Kyiv was awaiting a date. The Kremlin said there were no specific plans; three rounds of negotiations earlier this year had made no significant breakthroughs. Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks killed four people Saturday, while Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack killed three. President Donald Trump signed a sanctions bill targeting Moscow into law last week, but had not yet enacted its measures.
