Sergey Lavrov dismissed his meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul as a fruitless exchange where Berlin's representative merely recited official public positions. The Russian Foreign Minister claimed he learned no new information from the encounter, alleging that Wadephul attempted to secure concessions on the Ukrainian front in return for the gesture of convening the talks.

The discussion on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York lasted about 20 minutes and was the first ministerial contact between Russia and Germany since Jan 18, 2022. Closed to journalists at the request of the German side, the meeting follows a period of deterioration in ties due to alleged Russian drone sabotage in Leipzig and Wunstorf, which led to the mutual closure of consulates and the Russian House in Berlin.