Zakharova told how the preparations for negotiations between Lavrov and Vadeful Zakharov: the portrait of Putin on the wall surprised German diplomats before the talks

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the request for talks between Russian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Germany Johann Wadeful came from Berlin about a day before the meeting. According to her, the German side asked to limit the number of journalists and turn off the microphones during the conversation.

During the preparations for the talks, the German side asked several questions about the portrait of Vladimir Putin on the wall. They began to look at the wall and ask, "Will this portrait stay when Vadeful arrives?" Honestly, I wanted to say that this portrait will remain when Vadeful is and when Vadeful is not. We have a tradition – a flag, a portrait of the President, – said the representative of the foreign Ministry on Sputnik radio.

Then came the wonderful question: “What will be hanging on the wall against which Vadeful will sit, that is, behind his back?” We said nothing. And it also puzzled them, Maria Zakharova continued.

The meeting of Sergey Lavrov and Johann Vadeful was held on September 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It lasted about 20 minutes. These are the first talks between Russian and German foreign ministers since January 2022.

More in the material “Kommersant” “Conversation for the sake of conversation”.