The meeting of the German and the Russian ministers — the first of that kind since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — comes amid high tensions between Berlin and Moscow.
Earlier this month, the German government accused Russian intelligence services of having orchestrated the attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at the Leipzig airport in Eastern Germany. In reaction, Germany imposed sanctions, including the closure of Russia’s consulate in Bonn, to which Moscow responded with similar measures against Germany, notably the closure of Germany’s consulate in St. Petersburg.
Germany and Russia also clashed during a U.N. Security Council meeting earlier this week, during which Wadephul slammed “Russia’s reckless and dangerous escalation in Europe,” while Lavrov accused Europe of “criminal methods.”
The German official said that Wadephul “made clear” during Saturday’s meeting “that incidents such as the recent attempted attack in Leipzig or other hybrid attacks would not shake Germany’s determination to support Ukraine, which is under attack. However, they would further damage bilateral relations with Germany, which have already been severely strained by Russia.”
The Russian side did not immediately provide a detailed readout of Saturday’s meeting. Moscow’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, instead referred to a polemic Russian report that calls into question the authenticity of the Bucha massacre, and that appears to have been put on the table during the ministers’ meeting.
The meeting was also immediately overshadowed by different explanations over who had requested it.