Moscow's response to the German Foreign Minister's refusal to take a commemorative photo with Lavrov Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry: Western media these days is mocking the German Foreign Minister for being afraid to stand next to Lavrov for a souvenir photo. Western diplomacy in the face of international developments has reached the lowest level of degeneration. The German foreign minister, who was a petitioner and a beggar for negotiations a month ago, now fears a simple souvenir photo.