During the United Nations General Assembly, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadaful met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to reports, Lavrov’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, claimed that Wadaful “requested” the meeting, suggesting a need for diplomatic engagement despite ongoing tensions.
Zakharova highlighted that Russia has conducted numerous talks at the UN, with leaders from countries often labeled by the West as operating in “wild jungles” due to their low levels of democracy. She specifically mentioned Wadaful’s request to meet Lavrov, ridiculing the concept of Western democracy as a “wonderful garden” while criticizing the conditions set by Wadaful’s team for media access during the meeting.
Despite such criticisms from the Russian Foreign Ministry, it appears that the meeting aimed to discuss bilateral relations and the situation surrounding Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Wadaful reiterated the German government’s position that had been publicly articulated before.
Currently, Wadaful has not publicly commented on his meeting with Lavrov via social media. According to Die Zeit, this marks the first bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia since the onset of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022. Wadaful reportedly urged Lavrov to halt escalation against Germany, Europe, and NATO, emphasizing that incidents such as the attempted attack in Leipzig would not alter Germany’s stance on Ukraine.
In his remarks, Wadaful condemned the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukrainian civilians, affirming Germany’s support for Ukraine’s readiness to negotiate. He also indicated Germany’s willingness to make its relationship with Russia more constructive, contingent on President Vladimir Putin’s readiness to end the war against Ukraine.
This meeting comes just days after the U.S. government extended an invitation to Putin to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Miami this December, a move Wadaful endorsed as an opportunity for serious negotiations that should be seized.
Context
- On September 6, Lavrov claimed that Germany had initiated a “real war” against Russia, prompting German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to announce plans to counteract Russian actions.
- This statement followed an incident on August 5 when a drone with explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig, leading German authorities to accuse Russia of an attack.
- On September 1, reports emerged of homemade rockets targeting an electrical substation in Brandenburg.
- In response to rising tensions, Germany announced the closure of its last Russian consulate in Bonn by September 18 and the termination of the “Russian House” agreement in Berlin, while Lavrov announced the closure of all branches of the German Goethe Institute in Russia.
