German foreign minister sees no readiness for peace from Russia in first Lavrov meeting since 2022

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, but did not detect any willingness from the Russian delegation to step back from further escalation. He shared these remarks in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

Wadephul said he used the conversation to urge Russia to abandon its path of escalation, telling the Russian delegation that actions such as the attempted drone sabotage at Leipzig airport were unacceptable. He stressed that he did not negotiate with Lavrov over Ukraine's future, noting that such matters are for Ukrainians themselves to decide.

The minister acknowledged that fundamental disagreements remain between the German and Russian governments, but said that even during the Cold War, contact between the sides never fully ceased, and he felt it was the right moment to seek an opening for dialogue. He warned the Russian representative that Berlin would continue its comprehensive support for Ukraine and maintain economic pressure on Russia. However, he admitted he saw no readiness from the Russian delegation to heed his call to begin talks on ending the war.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that the meeting lasted a little over 20 minutes and covered bilateral relations and the situation surrounding Ukraine. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the meeting took place at Germany's request.

The last time Germany's and Russia's foreign ministers met was on January 18, 2022, in Moscow, when then-minister Annalena Baerbock visited the Russian capital amid a rapid buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders.

The resumption of diplomatic contact at this level followed a series of nuclear threats from Russia toward European countries. On September 10, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev threatened to wipe Lithuania "off the map" if nuclear weapons were deployed there. The following day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued similar threats. On September 21, intelligence services from three EU countries warned that Moscow was preparing provocations against NATO members, and on September 25 both the RIA Novosti agency and political analyst Sergey Karaganov made public statements about the potential use of weapons of mass destruction.