Meeting between Russian and German foreign ministers yields no substance, Russian deputy says

MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. The meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul yielded nothing of substance from the German side; the purpose behind Berlin's request for the meeting "remains something of a mystery," Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky has said.

Speaking to reporters following a roundtable discussion titled "The Era of Yu. A. Kvitsinsky: Marking the 90th Anniversary of the Distinguished Diplomat and Germany Expert" at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he noted that the meeting between Lavrov and Wadephul "came about literally at the last minute" at the German side's request and was organized, for all intents and purposes, after the Russian minister's main agenda had already concluded.

"The meeting lasted no more than 20 minutes. We heard nothing of substance from the German side, so the initiative itself remains something of a mystery," Lyubinsky pointed out.

According to him, the question of why Berlin requested the meeting at that particular moment is best addressed to Germany itself.

"I think there is a desire to show that some channels remain open," Lyubinsky noted. "Germany is keen to create an impression it is maintaining contact with the Russian side. I repeat: there is no substance behind it."