Russia was represented by the experienced top diplomat Sergey Lavrov at the UN General Assembly, as President Vladimir Putin did not travel to New York.
Lavrov issued a clear, albeit indirect warning, to US President Donald Trump after Trump said he supported shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate NATO countries' airspace.
Downed drones
Russia is accused of almost planning attacks on (the defense alliance NATO) and countries within the EU, said the former UN Ambassador Lavrov, and continued:
Russia has never had and does not have such intentions. But, any aggression against my country will be met with a powerful response.
Lavrov's statement came after the events when a Russian fighter jet violated NATO member Estonia's airspace, and is said to have flown drones over Polish airspace that were shot down.
At a subsequent press conference at the UN headquarters, Lavrov accused German Chancellor Merz of "militaristic rhetoric".
The Chancellor expresses pride that the goal is to once again make Germany the most powerful military engine in Europe, said Lavrov and then warned of the German "historical legacy of Nazism, fascism, the Holocaust and genocide".
However, Lavrov did not mention Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, or the Soviet Union's dark chapters.
Accuses Israel
Lavrov has long represented Russia as Foreign Minister, and was long considered one of the world's foremost top diplomats.
At the same time, the speech on Saturday showed the Kremlin's stance on, among other things, the Middle East.
Lavrov said that Israel wants to "blow up" the Middle East through its military attacks on several countries in the region.
He criticized Israel's attacks on Iran and Qatar, against Yemen, Lebanon and Syria and Iraq, and condemned "illegal use of violence". Lavrov also condemned Israel's hints about annexing the West Bank and the Israeli military's attacks on Palestinians.
