German foreign minister says Lavrov meeting addressed drone threat and Black Sea grain

Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul said security concerns and pressure over disrupted Black Sea exports led him to meet Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in New York on Saturday, September 26. The encounter on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly was the first between the countries’ foreign ministers since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Speaking on Sunday, Wadephul said he wanted to communicate directly that Germany was prepared to defend itself after what Berlin described as a Russian drone incident at Leipzig/Halle airport. Russia’s alleged role is a German accusation; it is not established by the fact that the ministers met. Wadephul said the issue had crossed a line and required a clear message to Moscow.

The minister also cited requests from colleagues, particularly from countries in the Global South, to raise the disruption of grain shipments. Attacks on ships, ports and energy infrastructure have added pressure to trade routes used by Ukraine and Russia. Wadephul said he was advocating a ceasefire in the Black Sea because interrupted food exports threatened vulnerable countries. His remarks described a diplomatic objective, not an agreement reached with Lavrov.

Rare contact amid a deep dispute

The two ministers’ meeting did not signal a broader settlement. Wadephul said the years of limited contact with Moscow had reflected the state of bilateral relations after the invasion, but he had concluded that a direct conversation was now necessary. Germany remains a major supporter of Ukraine and has repeatedly called for Russia to end the war and engage in negotiations toward a durable peace.

Lavrov gave a markedly different account after the encounter, saying he had heard nothing from the German side that Berlin had not already said in public. Russian officials have also criticised Germany’s military support for Ukraine. Wadephul rejected Lavrov’s dismissal and said Moscow could not justify continuing the war. The public comments showed that the meeting opened a channel for messages without narrowing the countries’ central disagreement.

Ukraine was informed about the contact. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sunday that he had spoken by telephone with Wadephul, who briefed him on the New York meeting. Sybiha thanked his German counterpart for conveying the two governments’ shared demand that Moscow end its war and for warning against further hostile acts directed at Europe. This was Kyiv’s account of the follow-up conversation.

The Black Sea issue intersects with separate US-led discussions of a limited pause involving energy and grain. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier in the week that both Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in such a limited arrangement. That statement did not amount to acceptance of a concrete ceasefire by either side, and continued attacks have shown how far talks remain from an implemented agreement.

Wadephul’s Sunday explanation placed German security and food-export concerns at the centre of his decision to speak with Lavrov. Neither minister announced a joint statement or a negotiated timetable after the meeting.