German, Russian foreign ministers hold rare talks amid rising tensions
Russia's Lavrov dismisses Wadephul's call to abandon 'dangerous path of escalation' with Europe.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” with Germany, Europe and NATO during talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in New York.
The meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday — the first such talks since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — was requested by the German side, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. It was held before Lavrov’s address to world leaders.
In his speech on Saturday, Lavrov told the UNGA that Germany is not only Kyiv’s “main sponsor” but also seeks to be a leading military power in Europe.
“I told him that frankly … you could just have called me and said: ‘Read my statement,'” Lavrov said.