Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rejected Germany’s call for Moscow to abandon what Berlin described as a “dangerous path of escalation”, accusing Germany of acting as Ukraine’s main sponsor.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Lavrov questioned whether Berlin understood the potential consequences of its policy and invoked the lessons of the Second World War.
“Does Berlin understand what this could lead to?” he asked. “Didn’t they not learn the lessons of World War II?”
His remarks followed a meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on the sidelines of the gathering in New York. The encounter, requested by Mr Wadephul, was believed to be the first meeting between the German and Russian foreign ministers since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A German delegation official said Mr Wadephul had urged Russia to end its “dangerous path of escalation” towards Germany, Europe and the Nato alliance.
Mr Wadephul also expressed openness to improving relations, but said that would depend on a genuine willingness by Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine.
Mr Lavrov dismissed the meeting as unproductive, saying his German counterpart had simply repeated Berlin’s public condemnation of Russia.
“He simply reiterated his official public position condemning Russia,” Mr Lavrov said. “You can judge for yourself whether that counts as dialogue or not.”
Relations between Russia and Germany have deteriorated further in recent weeks after an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport. Germany has blamed Russia for the incident, while Moscow has rejected the allegation.
Mr Lavrov described it as “an unclaimed drone” and criticised Germany for immediately declaring it to be Russian. He also challenged Berlin to identify a commercial vessel in the Black Sea that had been damaged or targeted by Russian strikes, saying there were no such cases.
In his address and at a subsequent news conference, Mr Lavrov accused Western countries of seeking Russia’s “strategic defeat”. He said such efforts would leave those pursuing the war in a “strategic dead end”.
He also claimed that the United States had destroyed the European security system and created a “Russophobic regime in Kyiv”. Russia, he said, remained ready to return to what it viewed as an agreement reached during the August 2025 meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Lavrov portrayed the BRICS group of leading developing nations as part of an emerging “fairer, multipolar world order”. He also criticised suggestions that Germany or Japan should be granted permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
Mr Wadephul told the General Assembly that Russia’s war was targeting millions of innocent people, Ukraine’s state and culture, and the European peace order. He urged Moscow to negotiate an end to the fighting.
Russia has repeatedly sought to emphasise that it retains a strong international position despite the war and its isolation from the West. However, an overwhelming majority of UN member states have repeatedly condemned the invasion, according to Mr Wadephul.
