Merz and Erdoğan coordinate ahead of European talks with Iran

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the escalating Israel-Iran conflict on Friday, hours before European foreign ministers were due to meet their Iranian counterparts in Geneva.

The two leaders "informed each other about their mediation efforts and promised to continue to coordinate and inform each other very, very closely," said government spokesman Stefan Kornelius in Berlin.

Erdoğan had stressed that situation could only be resolved through negotiations, he said.

The consultations between the foreign policy chiefs of Germany, France and Britain and their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi were due to take place during the afternoon in Switzerland.

Germany's Johann Wadephul, Jean-Noël Barrot of France and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy aim to sound out, among other things, whether Tehran is prepared to concede any ground on its nuclear programme.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas was also due to take part in the talks.

Spokesman Kornelius said that Merz himself was very active diplomatically, having on Thursday spoken by phone with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Erdoğan warned of refugees fleeing Iran because of the war, Kornelius said.

"President Erdoğan further noted that the repercussions of this spiral of violence, triggered by Israel's attacks, could negatively impact both the region and Europe, particularly concerning potential migration issues and nuclear leakage," said Kornelius.