The first meeting since the start of the full-scale war between the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia ended without any noticeable convergence of positions. Berlin called on Moscow to fully cease fire in Ukraine and refrain from further escalation, but the Russian side effectively rejected these calls, The Guardian reports, UNN writes.
Details
Johann Wadephul and Sergey Lavrov held talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The sides discussed the war in Ukraine, bilateral relations, the situation surrounding energy infrastructure, and grain exports via the Black Sea.
Wadephul called on Russia to "abandon the dangerous path of escalation in relations with Germany, Europe, and NATO." He also demanded an immediate and complete ceasefire and called on Moscow to help reach an agreement on the safe export of grain via the Black Sea.
Russia showed no readiness to make concessions
After the talks, Lavrov said he had heard "nothing new" from the German side and criticized Berlin’s position.
He simply repeated his official public position, condemning Russia… You can judge for yourselves whether this counts as dialogue or not
Instead of signaling readiness for de-escalation, the Russian minister accused Germany of supporting Ukraine and seeking to become Europe’s leading military power. Later, in his address to the UN General Assembly, he again defended Russia’s actions in Ukraine and criticized Western countries.
Thus, the first direct contact between the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia in more than four years did not lead to agreements on ending the hostilities or de-escalation. At the same time, the talks themselves restored a direct diplomatic channel between Berlin and Moscow at the level of foreign ministers.