Frank-Walter Steinmeier

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) said on Dec. 4 he would launch talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives on forming a government next week if members of his center-left party gave him the green light at a congress this weekend.

Germany's center-left Social Democrats agreed to enter into talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives about possibly forming a new government, according to a report Monday.

SPD leadership met Monday and unanimously decided on opening talks with Merkel's Christian Democrats and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, Reuters reported.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has sent a text message to Germany's Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz urging him to join a grand coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

In an interview with local media, the SPD chief said that Greece's leftist prime minister had urged him not to let "this deciding phase in Europe go to pass."

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.