Germany's Wadephul holds surprise UN meeting with Russia's Lavrov

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held a surprise roughly 30-minute meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the United Nations in New York on Saturday — the first such encounter since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

Speaking afterward to German broadcaster ZDF, Wadephul described the talks as intense, noting no agreement was reached on key issues. He said he made clear that Germany does not accept incidents such as the drone attack in Leipzig, calling it an unacceptable escalation, and warned Russia against continuing on this path, adding that Germany is capable of defending itself.

A German official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wadephul urged Russia to abandon its dangerous escalation toward Germany, Europe and NATO, and condemned Moscow's increasingly targeted aggression against Ukrainian civilians, pointing to heavy Russian military losses and the country's struggling economy.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of severely strained relations between Berlin and Moscow. Earlier this month, German authorities accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport, prompting Germany to impose sanctions, including closing Russia's consulate in Bonn — a move Moscow answered by shutting Germany's consulate in St. Petersburg. The two countries also clashed sharply during a UN Security Council session earlier in the week.

Accounts differ on who initiated Saturday's meeting, with a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson saying Wadephul had requested it, while the German minister said he agreed to meet after Lavrov signaled willingness through intermediaries.

The encounter comes as the United States and its allies push to revive peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Washington this week invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December, raising the prospect of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Wadephul called the invitation a litmus test for Putin, while stressing that a ceasefire would still be needed before serious negotiations could begin.