Germany refuses to negotiate wartime reparations with Greece
Berlin has refused to negotiate with Athens over its mounting calls for the payment of billions of euros in compensation for Nazi atrocities carried out during the Second World War in Greece.
“The issue [of reparation] has been closed legally and politically and there won’t be any negotiations about this. It has been settled in a comprehensive and conclusive way,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert on Wednesday.
He added that Greece should focus on more pressing issues such as meeting the conditions for the release of financial aid it requires.
"We should concentrate on current issues and, hopefully what will be a good future," he said, referring to the financial crisis in Greece and its proposals for a renegotiation of the bailout package with its international creditors.
Late on Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (pictured below) said a bilateral wartime reparation agreement reached in 1960 did not cover the country's outstanding demands, including payments for ruined infrastructure, war crimes and the return of a forced loan all through the Nazi terror regime in Greece.
He added that he was duty-bound to pursue reparations, arguing that Germany had adopted "silence, legal tricks and delays" since its 1990 reunification.
“We will work in order to fully honor our obligations. But at the same time, we will also work to resolve the unfulfilled obligations towards Greece and the Greek people… because morality can’t be applied only when convenient,” Tsipras told parliament.
Also on Tuesday, Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos (pictured below) went further and said that he was prepared to act on a 15-year-old Greek court ruling that permits the confiscation of German assets held in Greece in lieu of compensation.
Back in February, finance ministers from the eurozone gave the green light to the reforms submitted by Athens in exchange for a four-month extension of its bailout deal after a similar move by the European Commission.
Greece received two bailouts in 2010 and 2012 worth a total of 240 billion euros (272 billion dollars) from the troika of international lenders - the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union - following the 2009 global economic crisis.
SRK/AS/MHB
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