German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in New York on Saturday for their first bilateral meeting since Russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2022. It lasted just over 20 minutes; the topics were not initially known.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the German side had requested the meeting, according to TASS. It took place in a meeting room on the Russian side of the UN building and ended with a handshake.
Days earlier, Wadephul said Russia’s hybrid attacks against those who support Ukraine and international law had reached a “new level.” Germany holds Moscow responsible for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport and announced a sanctions package to impose on Moscow, including terminating the contract to operate the Russian House in Berlin, suspected of serving as a cover for espionage. Russia rejected the accusations and announced countermeasures, including ordering Goethe Institutes in the country closed. Dmitri Medvedev said Germany had earned “real punishment,” specifically mentioning “direct strikes” against German arms companies supplying Ukraine.
