German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) recently held direct discussions with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in New York. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly session, and according to a spokesperson for the Russian ministry, it was arranged at the initiative of Germany. Wadephul is scheduled to speak during the UN General Debate this Saturday.
Prior to meeting Lavrov, the CDU politician maintained a low profile and offered no public comments. Russian state media videos only show the two foreign ministers greeting each other, and Wadephul reportedly refrained from making any statements to the press. Initially, little was known about the substance of the talks between Lavrov and Wadephul, though the war in Ukraine is expected to be a central theme. This marks the first time a German Foreign Minister has met with his Russian counterpart in over four years, dating back to January 2022.
