Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras returned from Berlin optimistic that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will support Greece’s efforts to come to an agreement with its European partners over the Greek debt. Despite the fact that on the burning issue of liquidity Merkel said that she is not eligible to solve economic issues and referred Greece to the Eurogroup, members of the Greek team said that the German chancellor would not take the initiative to call Tsipras to Berlin if she wasn’t willing to support Greece. The German chancellor said that she is only the leader of one of the 19 euro zone countries and she doesn’t have the authority to decide for all nations, as all countries are equal. She said that only the meeting of all euro zone finance ministers can decide on Greece’s liquidity problem. During the five-hour conversation, the two sides discussed mainly Greece’s relations with the rest of Europe, what would happen after the four-month bailout extension and the issue of war reparations. On the issue of the Siemens scandal, Tsipras asked for legal contribution from the German side. However, it became evident that the two sides continue to have a different approach, Greek officials said. Greece and Germany agreed that German experts would help on issues of local government and health. The Greek prime minister said that the shadows of the past should be left behind and that today’s Germany has nothing to do with the Third Reich. He also said that Greeks should not only blame foreign countries for their plights. According to the Greek prime minister’s aides, Monday’s meeting in Berlin eased the tension between the two countries and rebuilt mutual trust.
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