German Foreign Minister Waldorf met with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in New York to urge Russia to stop dangerous escalation actions

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA on the 26th. This was the first meeting between the German and Russian foreign ministers since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war. Waldorf told Lavrov face to face and asked Russia to "stop dangerous escalation actions."

According to foreign media reports, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that this meeting was held at the initiative of Germany. Before the meeting, the German side requested that the media should not enter the venue and the opening speech could not be recorded. The entire meeting lasted about 20 minutes.

It is understood that German Foreign Minister Waldorf called on Russia to "stop taking dangerous escalatory actions against Germany, Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)" during the talks. Sources pointed out that Waldorf said that nothing like the attempted drone attack in Leipzig or other hybrid attacks could shake Germany's determination to support Ukraine.

Sources in the German delegation revealed that Wadford used the talks to call on Lavrov to do everything possible to reach an agreement on exporting food through the Black Sea. Time is very important. In view of food shortages in many countries, all parties must be willing to engage in constructive contacts, and pragmatic solutions can help reach further concrete measures.

Lavrov said at the press conference after the meeting that he did not learn any new information from Waldorf. Lavrov bluntly said: "I told him, frankly, you can call me or read my statement."

The last time Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his German counterpart was with then-Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in January 2022, less than a month before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.