Frank-Walter Steinmeier

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke over the phone on Nov. 29 about last week’s Sochi summit and the Syria crisis, according to a Turkish presidential source.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the head of Bavaria's conservatives, and the leader of the center Social Democrats (SPD) on Thursday, his office said on Friday, quoted by Reuters. 

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats came under growing pressure on Thursday to drop his opposition to a new "grand coalition" with Angela Merkel's conservatives, with senior politicians arguing the party had a duty to promote stability, reported Reuters. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will consult Monday with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier after weeks of talks to form a coalition government fell apart with one potential partner withdrawing from the process.

Exploratory talks to form Germany’s next coalition government collapsed shortly before midnight on Sunday when the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) walked out of marathon negotiations.

Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed ahead with efforts to form a new German government on Nov. 17 after a night of negotiations failed to resolve differences between the four parties involved. Participants suggested that they may need several more days.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Germany has failed to officially resolve the issue of reparations to Warsaw of World War II.

Two German army pilots have died after their helicopter crashed near Gao, eastern Mali. At the time of the crash, the helicopter was monitoring "confrontations", Deutsche Welle reported.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is right to act against what he called unacceptable Turkish policies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he said seeks to quench the country’s opposition.

The German president signed a law to legalize gay marriages which will be active from this autumn, reports Associated Press.

The parliament accepted the law during the last meeting on the 30th June, before the parliamentary elections in September. This happened after the counselor Angela Merkel said the representatives of the party should vote according to their conscience.