German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Greece next week, on January 10-11, for talks on bilateral relations, a deputy spokeswoman for the German government, Martina Fietz, said Friday.
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th January, 2019) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Greece next week, on January 10-11, for talks on bilateral relations, a deputy spokeswoman for the German government, Martina Fietz, said Friday."In Athens, German Chancellor Merkel will, first of all, speak to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Bilateral relations as well as European and international affairs will be the key topics," Fietz said.
Regarding Athens' demand for World War II reparations, Fietz said that Berlin's stance on the matter was "known and unchanging," and the issue had been "resolved legally and politically."
The chancellor is expected to meet Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos as well as various civil society activists. She will visit a German school in Athens and lay down flowers at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Pavlopoulos reiterated Athens' demand for reparations in mid-December, pointing to the need for compensation for all victims of Nazi Germany and the occupation loan, the 476 million Reichsmarks that the Greek national bank was forced to pay to Berlin at the time, but never received back. Athens believes it is owed about $12.48 billion.
