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UNITED NATIONS: The German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, holding what\u2019s believed to be the first such t\u00eate-\u00e0-t\u00eate since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n
The meeting came as tensions between the European Union and Russia rose \u2014 and just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed world leaders.<\/p>\n
In the encounter, German Foreign Minster Johann Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its \u201cdangerous path of escalation\u201d toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance, a German delegation official said.<\/p>\n
Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport \u2014 Germany has blamed the incident on Russia \u2014 and tit-for-tat responses that followed it.<\/p>\n
Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia\u2019s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to the official.<\/p>\n
The German news agency dpa reported that the roughly 20-minute meeting took place in a room provided by the Russian side and ended with both ministers shaking hands.<\/p>\n
Later, Lavrov said at a news conference that \u201cnothing new came from\u201d the conversation.<\/p>\n
Then, Lavrov denounced the West in his speech<\/p>\n
After the meeting, Lavrov went on to take the rostrum at the General Assembly, where he defended his country\u2019s war in Ukraine and lobbed barbs at the West \u2014 including Germany. He made a point of blasting the notion of Germany or Japan gaining a permanent seat on the powerful UN Security Council. The United States has long supported permanent seats for those countries and India.<\/p>\n
Criticizing NATO and the US \u2014 though not President Donald Trump by name \u2014 Lavrov complained that the West \u201ccontinues to try to maintain its privileges and to impose its own rules on everyone else\u201d even as the geopolitical ground is shifting.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fairer, multipolar world order is emerging before our very eyes,\u201d said Lavrov, whose country is part of the BRICS group of leading developing nations and other organizations that he portrays as more forward-looking and constructive.<\/p>\n
Moscow has repeatedly sought to stress that it maintains a strong position on the global stage despite its 4\u00bd-year war on Ukraine and isolation from the West.<\/p>\n
Writing on her personal Telegram channel, Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry, said that \u201ctens of diplomats\u201d had come to meet Lavrov to \u201cshake his hand and thank Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The speech came amid an intensifying aerial war. With front-line positions largely unchanged since last year, Russia has hammered Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones in recent months, while Ukraine\u2019s long-range drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks killed four people Saturday, as Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack killed three.<\/p>\n
Since Russia launched the war \u2014 which Moscow describes as a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d intended to ensure Russia\u2019s security and the rights of Russian speakers \u2014 Western analysts have estimated that over 500,000 Russian troops have been killed and that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Neither country discloses its own casualty totals.<\/p>\n
The backdrop is a wide impact on fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments<\/p>\n
The war has had global repercussions for fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments \u2014 and for geopolitics, widening divisions between Russia and the West.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his assembly speech Wednesday to press other countries to keep choking Russia\u2019s revenues and impede its war efforts, and he echoed that message on social media Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day,\u201d he wrote, adding that \u201cthe world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further.\u201d<\/p>\n
US lawmakers passed a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow last month. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law last week but hasn\u2019t enacted the measures yet.<\/p>\n
Now back in Ukraine, Zelensky told reporters in voice mail messages Friday that Washington is pushing for three-way, technical talks involving delegations \u2014 but not top leaders \u2014 from the US, Ukraine and Russia. He said Ukraine is waiting for the US to propose a date.<\/p>\n
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, during a call earlier this month, discussed holding such a meeting in the near future, but there were no specific plans yet.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg on Friday night, Putin decried recent Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and on Russian-held areas of Ukraine. He said \u201cproposals to resume the talks are all on the table,\u201d but Moscow \u201cwill think carefully about what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of three-way negotiations early this year but achieved no significant breakthroughs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n