Turkish, German leaders discuss virus, situation in Syria, Libya

ISTANBUL

The Turkish president and German chancellor discussed over the phone developments in Syria and Libya, as well as the fight against novel coronavirus, Turkey’s Directorate of Communications said Wednesday.

In a statement, the directorate said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Angela Merkel discussed “bilateral relations, cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 and developments regarding regional issues, Libya and Syria in particular.”

Meanwhile, the top diplomats of Turkey and Germany are scheduled to meet in Berlin on Thursday to discuss tourism and travel restrictions introduced to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters on Wednesday that the talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu would focus on the pandemic, as well as criteria for lifting Germany's ongoing warning for travel to and from Turkey.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and high-level officials from the Turkish Health Ministry will accompany Cavusoglu.