Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has begun an official visit to Germany, the ministry's press office has said.

Mitov will be in Berlin from Tuesday to Thursday to attend the 20th anniversary of the German-Bulgarian Forum, a private organization of Bulgarian and German businesses presided by German SPD lawmaker Gernot Erler.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized a video of a comedian reading a poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an on Germany's state broadcaster ZDF and called the text "insulting," during a phone call with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu. 

German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said he expected Turkey as a "partner of the EU" to share the European values, as a response to Turkey summoning the German ambassador to Ankara over a video that ridiculed the Turkish president. 

The OSCE Ministerial Council has decided to extend the mandate of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic, for one year.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday welcomed this decision, the organization said in a statement.

The German Embassy in Ankara and the German Consulate in Istanbul have remained closed for a second day over the threat of a possible attack after German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said they had received very serious intelligence about a possible terror attack against German missions in Turkey on March 17.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Feb. 28 said there was no 'Plan B' for the European Union deal reached with Turkey for reducing the flow of migrants, defending her open-door policy for migrants and  rejecting any limit on the number of refugees allowed into her country despite divisions within her government. 

World powers on Feb. 12 agreed an ambitious plan to cease hostilities in war-racked Syria within a week and dramatically ramp up humanitarian access at talks in Munich aimed at reviving the struggling peace process.

Italy has no problem with Turkey, Rome's ambassador to Ankara said Jan. 19 after the country was accused of blocking EU funds to help refugees in Turkey.

Starting on Friday and for the next year, Germany will hold the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Germany will formally assume this role during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, on January 14. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will present the program and priorities of his country's presidency.

German MP Peter Altmaier and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued stated that an aversion to accepting refugees could come at a high cost in veiled warnings to eastern EU members on Saturday.