German, Russian Ministers Meet at UN
Top diplomats from Germany and Russia held rare talks at the UN after years of war in Ukraine.
What happened
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. It appeared to be their first direct talks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting followed a steep decline in ties over the war and a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Germany blamed Russia for the attempted attack, while Russia called the allegation a fabricated provocation. Germany said progress on Black Sea grain exports could ease food shortages, especially in the Global South. Lavrov said the talks brought nothing new, then defended the war and criticized the West. Wadephul said better relations require Russia to end the war.
From the left
Left-leaning outlets framed the meeting as a rare opening in frozen diplomacy, while stressing Moscow’s rejection of Berlin’s message. CNN emphasized the first direct contact since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. PBS NewsHour centered Lavrov’s pushback against German calls to leave a “dangerous path of escalation”. CNN also highlighted Wadephul’s grain-export appeal as tied to food shortages in the Global South.
From the right
Only one right-leaning outlet we track covered this: Washington Times, under the headline “German, Russian foreign ministers have rare meeting at U.N”.
German and Russian foreign ministers have rare meeting at United Nations General Assembly
Two foreign ministers have rare meeting at UN
