CAMEROON – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, met Saturday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what was believed to be their first one-on-one discussion since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting took place as tensions between Russia and the European Union intensified, shortly before Lavrov delivered his address to world leaders.
During the meeting, Wadephul urged Moscow to abandon what Germany described as its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and NATO, according to a German delegation official. Relations between Berlin and Moscow have deteriorated further in recent weeks after an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport last month. Germany has blamed Russia for the incident, prompting a series of retaliatory measures.
Wadephul said Germany remained open to improving relations, the official said, but stressed that any meaningful change would depend on Russia’s leadership showing a genuine willingness to end the war in Ukraine.
The German news agency dpa reported that the meeting lasted about 20 minutes. It was held in a room provided by the Russian delegation and concluded with the two foreign ministers shaking hands.
Lavrov later told reporters that “nothing new came from” the discussion.
Lavrov then used his General Assembly speech to denounce the West.
After meeting Wadephul, Lavrov addressed the General Assembly, defending Russia’s war in Ukraine while directing criticism at Western countries, including Germany. He also rejected the idea of Germany or Japan receiving permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, a proposal long supported by the United States along with permanent membership for India.
Lavrov criticized NATO and the United States without naming President Donald Trump directly. He accused the West of “continues to try to maintain its privileges and to impose its own rules on everyone else” even as the global balance of power changes.
“A fairer, multipolar world order is emerging before our very eyes,” Lavrov said. Russia is a member of BRICS, a group of leading developing nations, as well as other organizations that Lavrov presents as more forward-looking and constructive.
Moscow has repeatedly sought to demonstrate that it remains a major force on the world stage despite its 4½-year war in Ukraine and its isolation from the West.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, wrote on her personal Telegram channel that “tens of diplomats” had approached Lavrov to “shake his hand and thank Russia.”
Lavrov’s speech came as the aerial war between Russia and Ukraine intensified. Front-line positions have remained largely unchanged since last year, but Russia has continued to strike Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones. Ukraine, meanwhile, has used long-range drones to target Russian oil refineries and businesses.
Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks killed four people Saturday. Russian authorities, in turn, reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed three people.
Since Russia began the war — which Moscow calls a “special military operation” intended to protect Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers — Western analysts have estimated that more than 500,000 Russian troops have been killed. They have also estimated that Ukraine has suffered more than 500,000 military casualties, including as many as 140,000 deaths. Neither country publishes its own casualty figures.
The war has also had a far-reaching impact on fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments.
Beyond the battlefield, the conflict has disrupted global fuel, fertilizer and grain trade while reshaping geopolitics and deepening divisions between Russia and the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday to urge countries to keep restricting Russia’s revenues and undermining its war effort. He repeated that appeal on social media Saturday morning.
“It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day,” Zelenskyy wrote. He added that “the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further.”
U.S. lawmakers approved a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Moscow last month. President Donald Trump signed it into law last week, although the measures have not yet been enacted.
Back in Ukraine, Zelenskyy told reporters in voice mail messages Friday that Washington was seeking technical, three-way talks involving delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Russia rather than the countries’ top leaders. He said Ukraine was waiting for the United States to suggest a date.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, during a call earlier this month, discussed holding such a meeting in the near future, but there were no specific plans yet.
Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg on Friday night, Putin decried recent Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and on Russian-held areas of Ukraine. He said “proposals to resume the talks are all on the table,” but Moscow “will think carefully about what we need to do.”
Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of three-way negotiations early this year but achieved no significant breakthroughs.
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Keaten reported from Geneva. Katie Marie Davies contributed from Manchester, England.
