Overview
- Germany's foreign minister Johann Wadephul met Russian counterpart Sergei Lawrow in New York on Saturday for a roughly 20-minute face-to-face that ended with a handshake but no agreement.
- Wadephul used the meeting to press Russia to de-escalate, to demand that incidents like the Leipzig/Halle drone attack stop, and to restate Germany's full support for Ukraine.
- The two ministers discussed concrete issues such as Black Sea grain exports and the Leipzig incident, with Wadephul warning that such attacks cross a red line for Germany.
- Accounts differ on who asked for the encounter: Moscow says Germany requested it, while Wadephul says Russia signalled readiness through third states, and Lawrow publicly called the talk unproductive.
- The meeting is the first ministerial contact since early 2022 and leaves open whether talks will continue; its outcome could affect sanctions, European diplomatic roles and access to grain supplies that many countries depend on.