Greek PM raises WWII reparations issue with Germany’s Steinmeier

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis raised the issue of World War II reparations and the forced occupation loan with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during their meeting at the Maximos Mansion on Wednesday. “These issues remain unresolved, and we hope that one day they will be addressed,” Mitsotakis told Steinmeier, who is in Greece on a three-day official visit. Mitsotakis welcomed Steinmeier’s plans to visit his birthplace of Crete on Thursday, specifically Kandanos, a village in western Crete that suffered brutal Nazi reprisals in June 1941, noting that Steinmeier’s visit acknowledges the atrocities committed on the island during World War II. Earlier in the day, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou also raised the reparations issue with Steinmeier, who responded that Berlin considers the matter legally closed. Despite this, Mitsotakis emphasized a new chapter in Greek-German relations. “Greece has economically recovered, leaving behind turbulent times and crises,” he said. Steinmeier also spoke positively of Greece’s economic recovery, ongoing progress in economic relations, and the strong presence of German investments. Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, pats Peanut, the dog of Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, before their meeting at Maximos Mansion in Athens, on Wednesday. [AP]