German, Russian foreign ministers hold rare talks amid rising tensions

Russia’s top diplomat Lavrov dismisses German Foreign Minister Wadephul’s call to abandon ‘dangerous path of escalation’ with Europe.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2026 [Heather Khalifa/AP)

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” with Germany, Europe and NATO during talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in New York.

The meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday — the first such talks since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — was requested by the German side, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. It was held before Lavrov’s address to world leaders.

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In his speech on Saturday, Lavrov told the UNGA that Germany is not only Kyiv’s “main sponsor” but also seeks to be a leading military power in Europe.

“Does Berlin understand what this could lead to? Didn’t they … learn the lessons of World War II?” he asked.

Diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow have been frozen since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

They deteriorated further after a drone incident at Leipzig airport in eastern Germany last month, which Berlin blamed on Russia. Moscow has firmly denied involvement and accused Germany of fabricating evidence.

European countries have linked Russia to drone incursions near airports, military bases and critical infrastructure across the continent in the past year.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the UN’s headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2026 [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]

After his UN speech, Lavrov told a news conference that he had learned nothing new from his German counterpart in talks that Berlin had not already said publicly in its official statements.

“I told him that frankly … you could just have called me and said: ‘Read my statement,'” Lavrov said.

Still, the ministers discussed bilateral ties and the war in Ukraine, officials from both sides said.

Wadephul urged Lavrov to do “everything possible to reach an agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea”, a German delegation source said, as reported by the Reuters news agency.

The meeting comes amid diplomatic efforts to revive Russia and Ukraine’s Black Sea grain and energy exports that have been restricted by attacks on vessels and port infrastructure.

Lavrov told the news conference that Russia had been in talks with India, Egypt and Turkiye about proposals to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.

“There is a need for separate discussions with the Ukrainians, and not in the language of requests, but rather demands,” he said, blaming Ukraine for the attacks on vessels.

Kyiv has said it is open to agreements and blames all the fallout from the war on Russia and its invasion.

Wadephul notified his European allies of the meeting afterwards in a message seen by Reuters.

“I used this opportunity to reiterate our position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to call for an immediate and complete ceasefire, most pressingly with a focus on grain exports, and the energy infrastructure,” he wrote.

俄罗斯最高外交官拉夫罗夫驳斥了德国外长瓦德普尔关于放弃与欧洲“危险升级之路”的呼吁。

德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔于2026年9月26日在纽约联合国总部举行的第81届联合国大会上发表讲话。[Heather Khalifa/AP]

德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔在纽约与俄罗斯外长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫会谈时，呼吁俄罗斯放弃与德国、欧洲和北约之间“危险的升级路线”。

据俄罗斯外交部发言人玛丽亚·扎哈罗娃称，周六在联合国大会期间举行的会晤是自俄罗斯2022年入侵乌克兰以来的首次此类会谈，应德方要求举行。会晤在拉夫罗夫向世界各国领导人发表讲话之前举行。

列表1/3：美国寻求重启俄乌停火谈判，基辅发生冲突，7人死亡

拉夫罗夫（共3条）第2条：俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争将“持续到最后”

俄罗斯加大对乌克兰的打击力度，乌克兰最大钢铁生产商停产

拉夫罗夫在周六的联合国大会讲话中表示，德国不仅是基辅的“主要支持者”，而且还寻求成为欧洲领先的军事强国。

“柏林是否明白这会导致什么后果？他们难道没有吸取二战的教训吗？”他问道。

自2022年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，柏林和莫斯科之间的外交关系一直处于冻结状态。

上个月德国东部莱比锡机场发生无人机事件后，两国关系进一步恶化。柏林方面指责俄罗斯是幕后黑手。莫斯科坚决否认参与其中，并指责德国捏造证据。

过去一年，欧洲各国将俄罗斯与欧洲各地机场、军事基地和关键基础设施附近的无人机入侵事件联系起来。

2026年9月26日，俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫在纽约联合国总部举行的第81届联合国大会上发表讲话。[Eduardo Munoz/路透社]

拉夫罗夫在联合国发表讲话后，在新闻发布会上表示，他与德国同行的会谈中没有了解到柏林方面未在其官方声明中公开表示的任何新内容。

拉夫罗夫说：“我告诉他，坦白讲……你完全可以给我打个电话，说：‘看看我的声明’。”

双方官员表示，尽管如此，部长们还是讨论了双边关系和乌克兰战争。

据路透社报道，一位德国代表团消息人士称，瓦德普尔敦促拉夫罗夫“尽一切可能达成通过黑海出口粮食的协议”。

此次会议召开之际，正值俄罗斯和乌克兰为恢复黑海粮食和能源出口而进行外交努力之时，此前由于船只和港口基础设施遭到袭击，两国的黑海粮食和能源出口受到限制。

拉夫罗夫在新闻发布会上表示，俄罗斯一直在与印度、埃及和土耳其就确保黑海航行安全的提议进行谈判。

他说：“有必要与乌克兰方面进行单独讨论，而且不是用请求的语气，而是用要求的语气。”他指责乌克兰袭击船只。

基辅方面表示愿意达成协议，并将战争的所有后果归咎于俄罗斯及其入侵。

路透社看到的一条消息显示，瓦德普尔事后将此次会晤通知了他的欧洲盟友。

“我借此机会重申了我们对俄罗斯侵略乌克兰战争的立场，并呼吁立即全面停火，尤其要重点关注粮食出口和能源基础设施，”他写道。