German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by phone, talking about the escalating Israel-Iran conflict on Friday, as European foreign ministers will meet with their Iranian counterparts in Geneva.
Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the two leaders “tell each other about their mediation efforts and promised to continue to coordinate and closely connect with each other.”
He said Erdogan stressed that the situation can only be resolved through negotiations.
Consultations between Germany’s head of foreign policy, France and Britain and its Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi will be held in Switzerland in the afternoon.
The goal of Germany’s Johann Wadephul, France’s Jean-Noël Barrot and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy are to speak out, among other things, whether Tehran is ready to acknowledge any reason on its nuclear program.
EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas will also attend the talks.
Mels himself was very diplomatic and spoke on the phone with Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, spokesman Kornelius said.
Conarius said Erdogan warned refugees who fled Iran due to the war.
“President Erdogan further pointed out that the impact of this violent spiral was caused by Israeli attacks and could have negative effects on the region and Europe, especially regarding potential immigration issues and nuclear leaks,” Kornelius said.
