German Foreign Minister Johann Waddeful met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov today in New York, DPA reported.
The two spoke on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and this was their first bilateral meeting in years.
The German side requested the meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, quoted by TASS.
These are the first talks at such a level since the start of the war against Ukraine in 2022. Although representatives of the German and Russian governments have attended various international forums together since then, there have been no direct talks between the foreign ministers.
Lavrov discussed the situation around Ukraine with Waddeful, as well as bilateral relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported, quoted by TASS. The closed-door talks lasted a little more than 20 minutes. Lavrov last met with the German foreign minister in January 2022, when the post was held by Analena Berbock, the agency notes.
The meeting took place against a backdrop of high tensions following Germany's accusations that Moscow had sent a drone loaded with explosives to Leipzig airport in early August, Agence France-Presse reported. According to representatives of the German delegation, Vaddeful called on Moscow to "abandon the dangerous path of escalation with regard to Germany, Europe and NATO." During the meeting, Vaddeful condemned "Russia's constant and increasingly targeted aggression against Ukrainian civilians."