Sergey Lavrov and Johann Wadephul held direct talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Germany requested the encounter, and Minister Wadephul specifically asked that journalists be barred from the meeting and prevented from asking questions.

The discussion is the first between the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany in 4.5 years. According to spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the last time the two officials met was on Jan 18, 2022, weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.