Russia’s top diplomat rejected German calls to ease off its “dangerous path of escalation” toward the country, instead accusing Germany of being Ukraine’s main sponsor and seeking to be a leading military power in Europe.
“Does Berlin understand what this could lead to? Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asked in his speech at the UN General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders. “Didn’t they not learn the lessons of World War II? “You can judge for yourself whether that counts as dialogue or not. The meeting, at German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s request, came just before Lavrov addressed world leaders, where he also criticised the militarisation of Japan. He made clear that Russia will veto any attempt by Germany and Japan for permanent seats on the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body. The two nations fought Russia, Britain and the United States in World War II.
“He simply reiterated his official public position condemning Russia,” Lavrov said. A German delegation official said that during their meeting, Mr. Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance.
Mr. Later, Mr. He challenged Germany to name one commercial vessel in the Black Sea that was damaged or targeted by Russian strikes, asserting that “there are no such cases.
Russia believes an agreement on ending the Ukraine war was reached at the August 2025 meeting in Alaska between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr.
Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to the official. Lavrov told a UN news conference that “nothing new came from that initiative of the foreign minister. As for the claimed attempted drone strike at Leipzig Airport, he called it “an unclaimed drone” that Germany immediately said was Russian. Lavrov said, “and we continue to remain ready to return to it.”
