In symbolic gesture, Tsipras meets with Greek President on German WWII reparations
Leftist opposition leader Alexis Tsipras was scheduled to meet with Greek President Karolos Papoulias at 1.30 p.m. on Thursday to discuss the country’s claim of World War II reparations from Germany.
The meeting coincides with a visit to Athens by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who has no plans to meet with the Greek President.
Speaking in Parliament Wednesday, Tsipras said that the Greek government must push ahead with the claim for a German compensation, rather than “sweep the issue under the carpet.”
Athens has recently been investigating whether it has cause to seek compensation for the damages inflicted during the country’s occupation and for a loan the Bank of Greece was forced to provide to the Nazi regime.
Berlin officials have repeatedly turned down the prospect of a WWII compensation. “The issue was settled a long time ago. Paying reparations is out of the question,” SChaeuble said earlier this year.
Tsipras’s meeting with Papoulias will be attended by SYRIZA MP Manols Glezos. Glezos, a WWII hero, recently objected to Tsipras’s plans to disband the party’s factions, giving the young leader complete control of the leftist group.