What were the highlights, key points, priorities and notable excerpts and quotes in Johann Wadephul's speech at the UN General Assembly?

Johann Wadephul, 63, is Germany's Minister for Foreign Affairs, serving under Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union. A lawyer and long-serving member of the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, he also holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserves of the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. He took office, succeeding Annalena Baerbock.

Highlights

• Ukraine as the defining test of the UN's purpose. Wadephul put the war in Ukraine at the heart of his address. As the Associated Press reported, he told the Assembly: "Russia's war targets the lives of millions of innocent people, the existence of the Ukrainian state and culture and the European peace order." He went further, warning that the war also endangered "vital aid supplies for millions of people, especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East," making the point that what happens in Europe does not stay in Europe.

• A direct call to every member state. Wadephul framed the moment as a test of collective will. The German news agency dpa reported his words from the rostrum: "I call on every member state to join us in convincing Russia that the future is shaped at the negotiating table and not on the corpses in cities and villages. The day on which negotiations finally begin will be a good day for the United Nations."

• Defending the rules-based order. Before departing for New York, Wadephul set out his frame for the whole week. The Federal Foreign Office quoted him: "The prospect of lasting co-existence free from conflict has today had to yield to a mode of permanent escalation." His speech repeated that theme: that an order built on the UN Charter is not a Western preference but humanity's only working alternative to force.

• UN Security Council reform, with a specific ask. Wadephul backed expansion of the Security Council, arguing that the current membership no longer reflects the world as it is. Germany's position, consistent with what he argued at the 80th session as well, is that additional permanent seats must go to regions now underrepresented: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He made no claim to a German permanent seat; Germany is instead running for a non-permanent seat for the 2027 to 2028 term.

• Condemning Russia's opposition to Security Council reform. The backdrop made this pointed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking later the same day, declared that Russia would veto any attempt by Germany or Japan to gain permanent seats on the Council, a direct shot at a goal Germany has long championed for others.

Priorities

• Get every UN member on record pressing Russia toward negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
• Defend the UN Charter and the rules-based international order against what Wadephul called permanent escalation.
• Win a non-permanent Security Council seat for Germany for the 2027 to 2028 term.
• Expand the Council's permanent membership to reflect Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

In his own words

Reported by the Associated Press from the General Assembly rostrum:

> "Russia's war targets the lives of millions of innocent people, the existence of the Ukrainian state and culture and the European peace order."

Reported by dpa from the same address:

> "I call on every member state to join us in convincing Russia that the future is shaped at the negotiating table and not on the corpses in cities and villages. The day on which negotiations finally begin will be a good day for the United Nations."

From his pre-departure statement, published by the Federal Foreign Office:

> "The prospect of lasting co-existence free from conflict has today had to yield to a mode of permanent escalation."

In the sideline meeting with Lavrov, reported by a German delegation official:

> Wadephul called on Russia to abandon its "dangerous path of escalation" toward Germany, Europe and the NATO alliance, while also expressing openness to a better relationship, on the condition that Russia showed genuine willingness to end the war.

Worth knowing

The sideline meeting between Wadephul and Lavrov was itself a headline. The two met at Russia's initiative for roughly 20 minutes, what the Associated Press described as the first such tête-à-tête between German and Russian top diplomats since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov afterward said at a news conference that "nothing new came from" the conversation. The meeting came against a backdrop of sharply deteriorating German-Russian relations, including an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport that Germany has attributed to Russia, and a series of tit-for-tat responses since.

Germany won election to a non-permanent Security Council seat for 2027 to 2028 at the 81st session, the vote taking place in June. That win gives Wadephul's calls for reform and accountability direct institutional weight.

Watch and read the full speech

Read Wadephul's pre-departure statement on the Federal Foreign Office website