Wadephul after meeting Lavrov: Russia must stop the war and hostile acts against Germany and allies

NEW YORK – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Russia end its war of aggression against Ukraine and stop hostile actions against Germany and its allies, after the first talk at this level between the two countries since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The meeting took place on September 26 in New York, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, lasted about 20 minutes and closed with a handshake, as Reuters reports. It was the first diplomatic contact of this rank between Berlin and Moscow since February 2022.

After the meeting, Wadephul wrote on X: “Russia must end its war of aggression against Ukraine and stop hostile actions against Germany and its allies.” He also said Berlin would support diplomacy if Russia “seriously engages in talks for a lasting peace”.

Wadephul made clear to Lavrov that the drone incident at Leipzig airport “crossed a line”: “Germany was attacked. We reacted. We would react again if our sovereign rights are violated.” According to Reuters, the German diplomacy chief also confronted his Russian counterpart over the September 3 arson attack in Munich, near a German company supplying Ukraine with drones — an attack German authorities link to Moscow.

As The Kyiv Independent reports, Wadephul asked Lavrov to do “everything possible for a deal on grain exports through the Black Sea”, warning there would be famine if these exports stop.

Lavrov downplayed the meeting. At a press conference he said “nothing new” came out of it, adding ironically: “you could have just called me and said: read my statement”.