German Foreign Minister Wadephul met Lavrov for the first time since 2022

On Sunday evening, the head of the German Foreign Ministry gave a short interview to the first program of the German public television ARD.

Wadephul met with Lavrov on the occasion of the general debate at the UN General Assembly session. It was the first meeting between the German foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Will Germany change its course towards Russia?

Wadephul also stressed that the interruption of the dialogue was an "appropriate and necessary" response to Russia's full-scale attack against Ukraine.

Now, in my opinion, the time has come when we need to talk (with Russia - ed.) - he explained.

Wadephul cited two reasons for his decision. Russia used armed drones at Leipzig airport. Everyone saw it. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, but it was crossing the line. I wanted to make it clear so that Russia understands that we are ready to oppose and defend ourselves, the minister emphasized.

As he explained, the second reason was requests from colleagues from the global south. The war prevents grain exports, which means there is a risk of famine in the south. Wadephul also raised the issue of a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which would allow unblocking grain exports. Answering ARD's question whether the meeting with Lavrov was also an attempt to join the talks on the future of Ukraine, Wadephul said: I wanted to send a signal that negotiations cannot be permanently left to American partners. We have our own interests, our own points of view that must be taken into account. Only we can present them.

"Russia is not ready for this"