The key facts
- Johann Wadephul remained silent when asked about a possible Merz call to Putin
- Peskov earlier said Putin was ready for dialogue with Merz and Macron
- The question was raised against the backdrop of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on October 30–31
German minister dodged question about Merz contact with Putin
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul left unanswered a correspondent's question about possible telephone talks between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti reports. The German diplomat preferred to remain silent when asked about Berlin's plans to arrange a conversation between the two leaders.
Context: the Kremlin's position and the G20 meeting
The question came against the backdrop of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, taking place on October 30–31 in Atlanta, USA, as part of the US presidency of the G20; the Russian delegation is led by Sergey Lavrov. Earlier, the Kremlin said the Russian president was ready for such contacts: press secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Putin is open to dialogue both with Merz and with French President Emmanuel Macron. At the same time, there is no information yet about preparations for a specific conversation between Moscow and Berlin.
G20 photo session: from Wadephul's position to the cancellation of the photo
According to Life.ru, Wadephul earlier did not intend to refuse a joint photograph with Sergey Lavrov at the meeting in Atlanta, explaining that in diplomacy the substance of conversations matters more than who happens to be next to you in the frame. However, later the organizers cancelled the group photo session after objections from a number of participants to a photo with the Russian minister. Thus, the German minister's public readiness to appear in a photo with Lavrov did not affect the final format: the decision to cancel was made by the organizers, not by him.
