Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna criticized German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In his view, the talks were “a victory for Moscow.”
Tsahkna said this in an interview with broadcaster ERR. He noted that during the meeting, Wadephul raised the issue related to the attack in Leipzig, but Russian propaganda, according to the Estonian minister, portrayed it as though the German diplomat himself had been desperately seeking talks.
“This is pure propaganda — I would call it a victory for Moscow or, at the very least, the maximum exploitation of the situation for its own benefit, which puts the German side in an extremely humiliating position.”
Margus Tsahkna, Estonian Foreign Minister
Tsahkna also stressed that Russia is effectively carrying out military attacks against Germany, although, in his wording, this does not reach the threshold of NATO Article 5. After that, he said, a meeting took place, following which Lavrov stated that the Russian side had accommodated Germany, held talks and listened to the German side.
Meeting in New York
Wadephul met with Lavrov in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It was the first meeting between the heads of the German and Russian foreign ministries since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
The talks took place after Berlin accused Moscow of attempting to attack a Ukrainian cargo plane with a drone in Leipzig.
Risk of normalizing contacts with Russia
In Tsahkna’s view, Russia’s return to diplomatic circles without appropriate conditions and consequences could create the impression that relations are being normalized despite Russia’s war against Ukraine and could weaken Moscow’s international isolation.
The Estonian minister added that Russia’s top leadership has recently been increasingly active in returning to official diplomatic circles.
