German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, who arrived in Germany with a two-day state visit.

Steinmeier and Erdogan had a private conversation. The German President has already said he intended to discuss with his Turkish counterpart the situation with the German citizens held in Turkish prisons, as well as the pressure of the Turkish authorities on the media and representatives of civil society.

Turkish President is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

According to Washington Post, Erdogan has threatened to cancel the press conference, as a former chief editor of the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhurriyet, Can Dundar is expected to be present there. 

German critics believe that taking it in accordance with the highest level of protocol is inappropriate because of the authoritarian policy of the Turkish president.

As reported earlier, thousand people are expected to take part in protest actions to send a message to the Turkish leader.

Berlin downtown is partly closed in order to free space for several large demonstrations as well as to provide a security cordon around the office, the Bellevue Presidential Palace and the Adlon hotel, where Erdogan and his circle will stay.

Up to 20,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Berlin under the banner “Erdogan Not Welcome”.