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Armin Laschet, left, chairman of the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU), and Annalena Baerbock, right, co-chairwoman of the German Green party (Die Gruenen), attend a statement after a meeting in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. A delegation from outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc met with the environmentalist Greens on Tuesday for exploratory talks on the formation of a new German government. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)