The meeting lasted approximately 20 minutes, during which Sergey Lavrov reportedly left copies of a Russian MFA report disputing the Bucha massacre on the table. Lavrov later dismissed the interaction as fruitless, claiming Wadephul merely read official government scripts from a notebook. Wadephul defended the talks as a means to ensure Europe does not leave dialogue with Russia entirely to the U.S., while reiterating Germany's strong support for Ukraine and accusing Moscow of hybrid attacks in Leipzig.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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Wadephul Warns Russia Will Not Halt Escalation After First Meeting in 4 Years
Geopolitics24 days ago
Moscow rejected attempts by Germany to establish a path toward peace during a brief encounter at the United Nations General Assembly. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told ZDF that his proposals for de-escalation regarding Ukraine fell on deaf ears and stated that Russia has no intention of stopping its aggression. The session in New York was the first ministerial level contact between the two countries since Jan 18, 2022, and occurred at the request of Berlin.
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