Heiko Maas

Germany is bringing together the key players in Libya's long-running civil war in a bid to curb foreign military meddling, solidify a cease-fire and help relaunch a political process to determine the North African nation's future.

The commander of forces fighting the U.N.-supported government in war-torn Libya has begun meetings in Athens.

Khalifa Haftar met with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after arriving for a previously unannounced visit late on Jan. 16.

He will continue meetings with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Jan. 17 as well as with other senior Greek officials.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was meeting on Friday with Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar who flew into Athens on Thursday night in a previously unannounced visit. 

The Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers spoke over the phone on Jan. 4, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkey's Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif discussed the killing of senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

The President of the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania, Aurel Vainer, was awarded the Cross of Merit in rank of officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt. The recommendation was made by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas. "We honor, today, the remarkable political courage of Mr.

Germany's foreign minister has offered backing for North Macedonia's efforts to start membership talks with the European Union, after a minority of EU members blocked the process.
Heiko Maas said Wednesday that the EU "has to open the doors" to the Balkan country and said the people of North Macedonia should not be disappointed with the setback.

Following Turkey's invasion of Syria, a new poll has shown that 58% of Germans want to oust Turkey from the NATO military alliance, according to the BGNES.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his German counterpart Heiko Maas will meet on Oct. 26 in the capital Ankara and discuss bilateral relations and cooperation areas between the two countries, a written statement from Turkey's Foreign Ministry read.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has praised the reform effort of the new conservative government in Greece as well as the steps taken to address the migration problem, state-run Athens-Macedonian news agency (ANA-MPA) reports.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is visiting Berlin on Monday, where he will be holding talks with German counterpart Heiko Maas and Bundestag President Wolfgang Schaeuble.