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Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Wadephul Meet in the First Russia-Germany Diplomatic Talks Since the Start of the Ukraine War (VIDEOS)

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Lavrov greets Wadephul – Screengrab Social Media/X

The meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NYC was branded a wasted opportunity.

Historically, Russia and Germany have clashed constantly, having fought no less than three major wars.

In the Seven Years’ War between Russia and Prussia in the 18th century, Russian armies occupied East Prussia, won at Kunersdorf, and briefly entered Berlin.

Then Germans did marginally better in the bloody World War I, and then, of course, we had World War II.

Despite the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa.

The Eastern Front became the war’s deadliest theater, and the Red Army eventually took Berlin – and Germany was divided in two for decades.

Today, the two countries have almost nonexistent diplomatic relations, with no high-level diplomatic meeting in more than 4 years.

Yesterday (26), on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.

It was the first contact between the two foreign ministries since January 2022, when Lavrov met Annalena Baerbock, just before the onset of the war in Ukraine.

The talks lasted only 20 minutes, with German diplomats demanding no media access, banning audio recording and publication of opening remarks.

Politico reported:

“’It was an intense conversation’, Wadephul told German public television ZDF after the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes. ‘Of course, we did not reach agreement on key points. It was important to me to make it clear that Germany does not accept incidents such as the drone attack in Leipzig, and that this is an escalation that is unacceptable. And I clearly warned Russia not to continue down this path. We can defend ourselves; we can fight back. And that’s exactly what we’ll do’.”

Watch: Waidephul’s view.

“’Wadephul called on the Russian Federation to abandon its dangerous path of escalation toward Germany, Europe, and NATO’, a German official said after the meeting. The official was granted anonymity to discuss the meeting.

The minister also ‘condemned Russia’s ongoing and increasingly targeted aggression against the Ukrainian civilian population’ and highlighted that, ‘every month, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers die in a hopeless war of attrition, while the Russian economy continues to collapse’, the official said.”

To no one’s surprise, the Russians had a very different take on those 20 minutes.

The meeting took place at Germany’s request, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters, and minister Lavrov had some choice words about it.

Watch: Lavrov’s take on the meeting.

Pravda reported:

“Russian foreign minister mocks the German foreign minister:

Lavrov says Wadephul came and read from a note the standard talking points Germany has publicly declared for years. ‘I learned nothing new from this’.

Funnily, Lavrov says Wadephul acted in an arrogant way: ‘Now I lowered myself to talking to you, now give me concessions’.”

Read more:

Former German Chancellor Angela Markel Criticizes EU for Not Maintaining a Dialogue With Russia, Refuses the Idea of Being the European Peace Envoy

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