Germany’s Wadephul meets Lavrov at UN after backing Putin G20 invite

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held a surprise roughly 30-minute meeting with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov at the UN on Saturday, a day after he welcomed a US invitation for Vladimir Putin to the G20. Berlin said Wadephul urged Moscow to stop escalating toward Germany, Europe and NATO, condemned strikes on Ukrainian civilians, and cited heavy monthly Russian losses in Ukraine. It was the first such talks since 2022, amid tension after Germany accused Russian intelligence of a drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig and imposed sanctions including closing Russia’s Bonn consulate, with Moscow responding in kind against Germany.