{"text":[[{"start":8.08,"text":"Germany’s foreign minister held talks with his Russian counterpart in the first face-to-face meeting between top officials of the two nations since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine."}],[{"start":19.12,"text":"Johann Wadephul said he used the “intense conversation” with Sergei Lavrov in New York to warn Moscow against further escalation after a drone laden with explosives was discovered at Leipzig airport last month in an incident that Berlin has blamed on Russia."}],[{"start":36.16,"text":"He said that he “gave Russia a clear warning” not to continue in the same vein, adding: “We can defend ourselves, we can fight back and we will do so.”"}],[{"start":45.76,"text":"Wadephul told German public broadcaster ZDF that he had also offered Lavrov “a chance to de-escalate” in Ukraine, adding that it had “fallen on deaf ears”."}],[{"start":56.4,"text":"“I also made it very clear to Russia: we stand with Ukraine, Ukraine has our full support, and economic pressure on Russia will continue,” he said. “I said that again to Lavrov and called on him finally to be prepared to enter talks.”"}],[{"start":71.6,"text":"Russia’s foreign ministry said that Germany had reaffirmed its position on Ukraine and other bilateral matters which it added had “been stated publicly many times”."}],[{"start":82.16,"text":"Both sides said that the meeting, which lasted around 20 minutes and ended with a handshake between the two men, had been requested by the other."}],[{"start":89.68,"text":"The last time Lavrov met a German foreign minister was in January 2022, the month before Putin launched his full-scale assault on Ukraine."}],[{"start":98.48,"text":"In November 2024, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone call with Putin in a move that was heavily criticised by Kyiv."}],[{"start":106.88,"text":"Scholz’s successor Friedrich Merz has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. He has said that his government would be open to talks but only if Russia took them seriously — and if they were closely co-ordinated with allies."}],[{"start":119.68,"text":"Wadephul said that “numerous colleagues” from other countries had asked him to consider meeting Lavrov."}],[{"start":126.074,"text":"He added that he “did not want us Europeans to leave all communication with Russia entirely to the Americans” at a time when Donald Trump’s administration was engaging intensively with Moscow."}],[{"start":138.08,"text":"The question of whether to talk to Russia has proved divisive among European governments."}],[{"start":142.48,"text":"France’s Emmanuel Macron has led calls for European countries to have their own channels to Moscow. The staunchest opposition has come from the Nordic and Baltic countries along with Poland."}],[{"start":157.44,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790552593_1805.mp3"}