More than four years after the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia sat down at the same table again.
According to the British 'Financial Times' report dated September 26, German Foreign Minister John Weder, who was attending the High-level Week of the United Nations in New York, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since January 2022. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, and both diplomats shook hands before leaving.
Russian and German Foreign Ministers shake hands
After the meeting with Vadefur, he told German Television 2 (ZDF) that the two sides had engaged in a "intensive conversation". According to him, he gave a "clear warning" to Russia in person, asking the Russian side not to further escalate tensions with Germany, Europe, and NATO.
"We can protect ourselves, we can counterattack, and we will do so." Wadsworth said.
One of the contexts he mentioned is the drone incident that occurred at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany in August this year. At that time, airport staff discovered a drone carrying explosives and an ignition device. On September 1st, the German government announced that Russia was involved in this matter, and used this as a reason to close Russia’s consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural institution in Berlin.
The Russian side denies the allegations. Putin and Lavrov previously stated that the German claims were unfounded. Putin also accused Germany of trying to shift responsibility onto Russia.
During the talks, Wadefu continued to reiterate Germany's position on the Ukraine issue.
"I made it absolutely clear to Russia that we stand with Ukraine, that Ukraine will receive our full support. The economic pressure Russia is exerting on Ukraine will continue." He said, and added that he urged the Russian side to "make preparations for participation in negotiations.”
Wade Powell also claimed that he offered Lavrov a chance for Ukraine's situation to "degrade," but the proposal received no response.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a brief statement that day.
The report states that the meeting was held “at the request of Germany”. Both parties discussed the current state of Russian-German relations and the situation in Ukraine. Regarding Vadefur’s statements during the meeting, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs only said that the German Foreign Minister reaffirmed Berlin’s “positions that have been publicly stated several times before”.
Lavrov also did not give high praise to this meeting during the press conference.
When asked whether this meeting meant a resumption of dialogue between Russia and Germany, he stated that he had “not heard anything new” from Vadefour.
According to Russian media such as the International News Agency, Lavrov said that after meeting with Wadefuell, he took out a prepared note and read it aloud. The note basically contained the positions that the German government had repeatedly expressed publicly.
"I originally thought you had something interesting and unusual." Lavrov recalled what he said to Waldorf at the time, "If it was just these, you could call me up and let me watch your speech at the UN General Assembly."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova also said that this contact was proposed by Germany. Russian media reported that Germany requested restrictions on media access before the meeting, and the talks were not open to journalists.
As for who actually proposed the meeting, the two sides have different statements. The Financial Times reported that both Germany and Russia said it was the other side who suggested holding the talks; the official statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly stated that the meeting was held 'at the request of the German side'.
Wadefou did not deny Germany’s desire to resume direct communication.
He said that ‘many colleagues from other countries’ had previously advised him to consider meeting with Lavrov. The Trump administration has been in close contact with Moscow recently. Vadefuer said he ‘does not want us Europeans to leave all communication with Russia entirely to the Americans’.
Just three days before this meeting, Lavrov held a closed-door conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio in New York. The two had also met during an ASEAN-related conference in July.
Whether direct political contact with Russia should be resumed remains an issue of internal debate in Europe.
French President Macron advocates that Europe retain its own channels of communication with Russia. Poland and some Northern and Baltic countries are more opposed to this. German Chancellor Merz previously also said that she does not oppose negotiations, but asked Russia to "take the talks seriously" and emphasized that any contact needs to be coordinated with allies.
