The German minister met his Russian counterpart for the first time since 2022

According to the Russian Ministry of Diplomacy, the initiative for the meeting came from Germany. It was the first conversation between the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany since 2022. In January of that year, Lavrov met with the then head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock.

The German agency dpa reported that the conversation between Johann Wadephul and Sergei Lavrov lasted just over 20 minutes.

Wadephul arrived with the delegation at the meeting place around 10.30 local time, i.e. at 4.30 p.m. in Poland. Lavrov and his colleagues were already waiting for the German minister.

"The beginning of serious negotiations"

Before the meeting with Lavrov, Johann Wadephul referred to Vladimir Putin's invitation to the December G20 summit in Miami. He assessed that the possible participation of the Russian leader could become an opportunity to start talks to end the war against Ukraine.

This invitation will be a test, also for Vladimir Putin, of his readiness to negotiate. Such opportunities should be used, Wadephul said.

The German minister also emphasized that the condition for constructive dialogue should be compliance with the ceasefire during the negotiations.

US President Donald Trump invited Putin to the G20 summit. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that the Russian leader would accept the invitation, which could enable him to talk to Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on September 21 that he was ready to come to Miami and meet Putin there if the Russian leader appeared at the forum.

However, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close to the Kremlin, that Putin may not appear at the G20 summit. According to these reports, he would take part in the APEC forum in China - for the first time since 2017.