Merz: Russia "not interested" in serious talks to end the war

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul on Saturday on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings.

The talks, the first of their kind since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, took place against the backdrop of escalating tension between Berlin and Moscow in recent weeks, as Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack targeting Leipzig Airport. In the aftermath, each country ordered the closure of the other's consulate.

A German diplomat said that Wadephul "called on the Russian Federation to abandon its dangerous approach of escalation towards Germany, Europe, and NATO," stressing "Germany's determination to support Ukraine."

However, the Russian Foreign Minister accused European countries in his speech before the United Nations of seeking to obstruct negotiations aimed at ending the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, pledging that his country will achieve its goals in Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Lavrov "mocked the negotiation efforts" and that Russia has not shown "any real movement, but just mockery."

Merz called "once again on the Russian government to come to the negotiating table," adding, "But if Russia is not ready for that, we... are ready to support Ukraine for a long time."

He considered that "Russia will not win this war" and that it "will incur massive damage" the longer the conflict drags on.

Merz made these remarks alongside visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, an ally of Moscow who has never endorsed the Russian attack on Ukraine.