During the Valsydian International Debating Club meeting on September 29th, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that European countries lack sincerity in improving their relations with Russia. He recalled that when meeting with German Foreign Minister Waderfuer, Waderfuer immediately referred to Russia as an aggressor. Subsequently, Waderfuer accused Russia of being behind the drone attacks on Leipzig Airport. Lavrov responded on the spot, "Did you find out everything within three days?"
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Weder Feltmann held a brief meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the 26th. This was the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in 2022.
Lavrov at the Valda Club
Below is Lavrov's speech at the Valdai Club venue: observers network reports live from the scene:
In the past, we never had any problems with Norway and Finland, and we even cooperated within the Arctic Council. After all, we were neighbors. But now, it’s countries that are far away from us that are affecting us and our neighboring countries.
I hope that one day everything will return to normal. Regarding this topic, I want to say this: when the Scandinavian countries or other European countries quietly send us signals, asking if we can do something, we won’t chase them after.
There are several communication channels between the two parties, including channels within the government administration system and those of intelligence agencies. Usually, the message they send is: “Listen, our relationship is in a very bad state. You should do something to give us a way to control this situation.”
It seems that this could facilitate a positive process of moving towards each other. But, friends, we won’t take any actions on our own. You should first tell us what you want, and then we will decide whether it’s appropriate or not.
For example, Mr. Waderför (Germany's Foreign Minister) requested an urgent meeting on the last day of our visit. We met with him on Saturday, just before takeoff. He took out a piece of paper and began to read it.
Russia is an aggressor, this is a war sparked by unjustified provocation...
We started to feel annoyed as soon as we heard it. I asked him if there was anything new besides those same words that they repeat publicly and formally every day.
He said, “I say this because what we disclose is the truth. So, I am also informing you in a confidential manner.”
Later, when I explained the whole situation to him, he didn’t pay any attention to our arguments at all. It was obvious that he had nothing more to say.
He mentioned the Leipzig incident again (late at night on August 4th to early morning on August 5th, 2026, when an airport in Leipzig, Germany, was attacked by drones. The German authorities determined that Russia was involved in this incident). He said that was unacceptable. In fact, a few days before meeting with me, he publicly stated that Russia knew what it had done, and even “even Lavrov knew that it was Russia that did it.” Therefore, he blamed the Leipzig incident on me again.
"I asked him: 'Will you figure things out within three days?'"
He said, “Yes, there is no doubt.”
However, no one has found that drone, and no one has proven that it was indeed a Russian drone. Everything is described as “highly likely”, which is the so-called “very probable” statement.
So I asked him: “Before closing our consulate and cultural center, have you ever carried out any trials? Are there any court judgments as a basis for your actions? Or do you simply act based on these suspicions, even though you claim that these suspicions undoubtedly point to Russia?”
He said: “There is no judgment, we also do not need it.”
I said, “The explosion of the ‘North Stream’ pipeline is like someone spitting in your face directly, destroying the foundation for your economic prosperity. Now your energy prices are already four times the original price set in the ‘North Stream’ contract.”
I said, you've already investigated for four years.
He said, “Yes, this matter must be investigated.”
I asked, “Why do we need to go through judicial investigations when Germany suffers such huge losses? Here, it’s just discovered a drone. Are you going to ruin relations between the two countries, close consulates, and shut down the popular Russian cultural centers in Germany?”
He did not respond to this question.
During his speech on May 8th, German Chancellor Merz did not even mention the Soviet Red Army, but instead talked extensively about freedom. Later, Merz also said that Germany has no right to stop providing support to Ukraine, as that would be an act of appeasement towards Putin. If Germany were to stop doing so, it would be equivalent to appeasing Hitler back in the past.
It’s quite remarkable that no one in Europe dares to talk about this matter. This certainly speaks volumes. This also gives our political scientists and historians reason to conclude that someone is once again trying to cause strategic defeat to Russia, attempting to resolve the so-called “Russian problem”. They still haven’t learned from history’s lessons.
