Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia described the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart Johann Vadeful as a "diplomatic spectacle". According to him, the conversation showed the lack of an independent foreign policy line of the German leadership and unwillingness for a serious dialogue with Moscow.
“This diplomatic spectacle only confirmed the lack of an independent foreign policy line and readiness for a serious, mutually respectful dialogue with Russia by the current leadership of Germany,“ said Nebenzia.
The meeting lasted a little over 20 minutes
Lavrov and Vaddeful met on September 26 in New York as part of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The conversation lasted a little over 20 minutes, and according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the initiative came from the German side. The situation around Ukraine and Russian-German relations were discussed.
After the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Vaddeful had confirmed the publicly known position of the German government on Ukraine and other issues. The German minister did not make a statement about the results of the conversation.
Moscow: Berlin has repeated its already known position
Lavrov himself said that he had not heard anything new from his German counterpart. According to him, Vaddeful had taken out his notes and read a text that completely repeated the official positions publicly stated by the German leadership.
The meeting in New York was the first high-level conversation between the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Despite the restored direct contact, the Russian side did not report any change in the positions of the two countries or any specific agreements reached.
Sources: gazeta.ru, tass.com