Russia, Germany's top diplomats hold first talks since 2022 at UN

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, marking the first high-level bilateral talks since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The meeting covered bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine, with Germany urging Russia to agree on Black Sea grain exports amid global food shortages. The talks occur against a backdrop of strained ties, worsened by a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport attributed to Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, marking the first high-level bilateral talks between the two countries since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Russian foreign ministry confirmed the meeting, stating that the two discussed bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine. A German delegation source said Wadephul pressed Lavrov on Black Sea grain exports, telling him that "time is of the essence" given food shortages in the Global South and that "a pragmatic solution could pave the way for further concrete steps." The meeting comes amid a deep freeze in bilateral ties, which have been further strained by a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany in August. The German government concluded this month that Russia was responsible for the attempted drone attack and responded by ordering the closure of a Russian consulate and a cultural center in Berlin. The Russian embassy dismissed the allegations as a "fabricated provocation" and "a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany." Wadephul also called on Russia to abandon the "dangerous path of escalation" toward Germany, Europe, and NATO, and said hybrid attacks would not shake Germany's resolve to support Ukraine.