The German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, holding what's believed to be the first such tête-à-tête since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting came as tensions between the European Union and Russia rose — and just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed world leaders.
In the encounter, German Foreign Minster Johann Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance, a German delegation official said. Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport — Germany has blamed the incident on Russia — and tit-for-tat responses that followed it.
