Foreign Ministers of Russia and Germany met

The German and Russian foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, holding what’s believed to be the first such tête-à-tête since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting came as tensions between the European Union and Russia rose — and just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed world leaders, AP reports.

In the encounter, German Foreign Minster Johann Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its “dangerous path of escalation” toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance, a German delegation official said. Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport — Germany has blamed the incident on Russia — and tit-for-tat responses that followed it.

Wadephul expressed openness to a better relationship but said it required a genuine willingness from Russia’s leadership to end the war in Ukraine, according to the official.

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.

Later, Lavrov said at a news conference that “nothing new came from” the conversation.