Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a message to Berlin, who met with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at Megaros Maximos. Indirectly responding to the statement of the German president in his morning meeting with the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou that “legally the issue of reparations is considered expired”, the prime minister made it clear that for Greece the issue of reparations and especially the forced occupation loan, is still very “alive”.

During the meeting, international developments, the perspectives of Greek-German relations, as well as the strengthening of Greek-German cooperation within the EU were discussed.

The Prime Minister thanked the President of the Federal Republic of Germany for the fact that tomorrow Thursday he will visit Kandano, recognizing with his presence the Nazi atrocities that took place on the island during the Second World War.

He also mentioned that for Greece the issue of reparations, and especially the forced occupation loan, is still very much “alive” and noted that we hope that at some point we will resolve them.

At the beginning of the meeting the Prime Minister and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany had the following dialogue:

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Mr. President, I am really glad to welcome you to Athens. I believe that this is a very important visit, which I believe highlights the fact that Greek-German relations are moving into a different era, leaving behind us a turbulent period of crisis.

As you know, Greece is doing much, much better economically. I think it’s a great opportunity to talk about the future, what we can do together and as European partners facing big issues like competitiveness, immigration. We must work together to resolve them.

However, I would like to thank you, personally and as a Cretan, for the fact that you have chosen to visit tomorrow my special homeland, the island of Crete, and to visit Kandano, to recognize with your presence the Nazi atrocities that took place on the island during World War II. I think it’s a very important gesture.

As you know, for Greece the issue of reparations and especially the forced occupation loan, these issues are still very “alive” and we hope that at some point we will resolve them. However, I would like to attach special value to your presence in Greece, in Crete. I believe it is a gesture of great importance for us.

So thank you again for your visit. We look forward to a very productive path towards further strengthening our bilateral relations.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier: Thank you for your kind invitation and your time, Prime Minister. I am glad to be back in Greece and to say that I remember both the easy periods in our bilateral relations, but also the difficult ones.

Therefore, I am particularly happy that Greece is back on a path of economic growth, fueling our bilateral economic transactions, and that German companies are still not only present but also investing here in Greece. Just yesterday we visited the production unit of the German company Boehringer – Ingelheim, near Athens.

I therefore hope that our bilateral relations, not only economic but also exchanges in the cultural field and between the two peoples, will develop in the coming years, in the context of a democratic Europe, which represents freedom worldwide and will be a part where one deserves to live.

The Sakellaropoulou – Steinmeier meeting

Previously, Katerina Sakellaropoulou raised, during her meeting with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the issue of German reparations, stressing that it is pending, and that it is important to raise issues of the past.

The President of Germany, however, replied that for his country legally the issue is considered over.

“Our legal positions on the issue of reparations differ and you know that. We are of the opinion that legally this issue is considered expired. However, we remain committed to our historical responsibility, not only regarding Thessaloniki, but also elsewhere. This was also the reason that pushed me to get in touch with those remaining in Thessaloniki, with the Jewish community and to discuss how we could create a monument to the memory of the people who were lost,” he said characteristically.

“This was also the start, if you will, of the whole idea of ​​creating a museum in Thessaloniki, not only regarding the victims of the Holocaust, but also all the victims of the German occupation” he added.

“Tomorrow I will go to Crete, I will visit one of the martyred villages and I will speak publicly, referring to the responsibility that we Germans bear towards the victims and towards what happened. This is a difficult subject, which nevertheless remains in our present relationship. A topic that assumes a very important role and I would not like to avoid it”, he continued.