Germany Urges Putin to Stop Dangerous Escalation Against NATO Countries

Germany has urged Vladimir Putin to stop Russia’s “dangerous path of escalation” against it and other Nato countries and find a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine.

The German foreign minister Johann Wadephul met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, although Lavrov later said the talks led to no meaningful breakthrough.

Lavrov dismissed Wadephul’s concerns and instead accused Germany of prolonging the war by supporting Ukraine. In his speech later to the General Assembly, he said: “Does Berlin understand what this could lead to? Didn’t they not learn the lessons of World War II?”

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine ramped up their aerial attacks on Saturday, with at least 10 people killed across both countries, despite Donald Trump’s plea for a peace deal.

Mr Trump told Zelensky to make a deal with Vladimir Putin to end the war at the UN General Assembly earlier this week in New York.

“You know what I want him to do? Make a deal,” the president told Fox News. “I want him to settle with Putin and I want Putin to settle with him.”

Russia uses UN address to criticise West and deny isolation

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov used his speech yesterday at the UN General Assembly and a subsequent news conference to blame the West for undermining European security, despite Russia being the aggressor in its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Lavrov claimed the West “aspires to inflict strategic defeat on Russia – but these aspirations will result in the war mongers being led into a strategic dead end.”

He also claimed the US specifically had "destroyed the European security system and created a Russophobic regime in Kyiv".

Moscow has repeatedly sought to stress that it maintains a strong position on the global stage despite its war on Ukraine and isolation from the West.

Writing on her personal Telegram channel, Maria Zakharova, chief spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, claimed that “tens of diplomats” had come to meet Lavrov to “shake his hand and thank Russia” at the UN.

An overwhelming majority of General Assembly member nations have repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Voters in Switzerland decide on right-wing party's proposal to tighten neutrality rules

Voters are taking part in a referendum in Switzerland today on a proposal to strengthen the country's neutrality rules.

The referendum is supported by a right-wing populist party that insists the Swiss government has gravitated too close to the European Union and Nato, notably over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Backers of the plan, championed by the Swiss People's Party, want Switzerland to reinforce its commitment to neutrality that has been enshrined in the constitution since the mid-19th century and has faced years of debate over what that neutrality really means.

The party, which has the most seats in parliament and counts some members with pro-Russia leanings, has bristled over the Swiss federal government's decision to denounce Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and join EU sanctions against Moscow.

The measure would prohibit the government from joining sanctions against any belligerent country except sanctions approved by the United Nations. Russia has been shielded from such measures because it wields a veto on the UN Security Council as one of its five permanent members.

Switzerland is not a member of any military alliance. Passage would also bar the Swiss government from cooperating with any alliance – as it has with Nato for three decades, including through joint exercises – except in cases where it faces a direct threat.

Germany says relations cannot improve with Russia unless Putin moves to end war

The meeting between German and Russian foreign ministers on Saturday, at Germany's Johann Wadephul’s request, came just before Sergey Lavrov addressed world leaders, where he also criticised the militarisation of Japan.

He made clear that Russia will veto any attempt by Germany and Japan for permanent seats on the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body. The two nations fought Russia, Britain and the United States in World War II.

A German delegation official said that during their meeting, Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and the Nato alliance. Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport – Germany has blamed the incident on Russia – and tit-for-tat responses that followed.

Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to the official.

Russia's top diplomat rejects German calls to stop ‘dangerous escalation’

Russia’s top diplomat rejected German calls to ease off its “dangerous path of escalation” toward the country, instead accusing Germany of being Ukraine’s main sponsor and seeking to be a leading military power in Europe.

“Does Berlin understand what this could lead to?’ Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov asked in his speech at the UN General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders. “Didn’t they not learn the lessons of World War II?”

Lavrov was dismissive after the German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the meeting, holding what’s believed to be the first such tête-à-tête since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“He simply reiterated his official public position condemning Russia,” Lavrov said. “You can judge for yourself whether that counts as dialogue or not.”

German, Russian foreign ministers have rare meeting at UN

The German and Russian foreign ministers have met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly

Watch: 20 rescued after Kyiv residential building hit in Russian attack

ICMYI: Zelensky urges Trump to get China to help end Russia's invasion

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he asked Donald Trump to press China’s Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s influence over Moscow and end the war on his country.

Zelensky told reporters late on Friday that he has not yet received feedback from the White House about Trump’s talks with Xi, but expects to learn the outcome.

Nato countries have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Zelensky was also in the US this week on a trip coinciding with the UN General Assembly. He met with Trump on Tuesday.

Zelensky met with US senators and Congress members during his trip and said he thanked them for their bipartisan support in passing a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow last month. Trump signed the bill into law last week but hasn’t enacted the measures yet.

Ukraine now intercepting 55 per cent of Russian jet-powered drones - Zelensky

Putin 'looking for excuses to keep waging war'

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Vladimir Putin continues to “look for excuses” so he can keep waging war.

“Obviously, the Russians are not preparing to stop their war, at least for now,” he said.

“Putin always finds some lame excuse – not to meet, not to hold a trilateral, not to talk, not to end it, not to stop the killing… It has been the same with him for years – and all our partners feel it. He is looking for excuses to keep waging the war.

“It always sounds the same – and our recent meeting with the US President showed that. America sees the situation the same way. And Russia must develop a desire to spend money not on death, but on something else – they must develop a desire to end this war.

“In the coming days and throughout October, there will be a lot of diplomatic activity to change the situation. But beyond that, the Lindsey Graham Act, other mechanisms of pressure – all of this needs to work even harder.”

Russian and Ukrainian strikes leave 10 dead despite Trump plea for peace deal

Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine, officials said on Saturday, while Kyiv continued to target Russian oil refineries and industrial sites with long-range drones.

The intensifying air strikes between Moscow and Kyiv come as Donald Trump said he hoped Volodymyr Zelensky would “settle” with Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine continued to target Russian oil refineries and industrial sites with long-range drones.

A Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, local officials said Saturday.

Attacks also killed three people overnight in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.