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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, shake hands after a joint press conference as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, speak during a joint press conference as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a joint press conference with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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Greek leader wants talks with Germany on war reparations

By Associated Press New Berlin

PUBLISHED 10:43 AM ET Aug. 29, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — Greece's newly elected prime minister has said during a visit in Berlin that he hopes Germany will agree to start negotiations on war reparations.

After a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told reporters "we hope there will be a positive response."

The previous Greek government delivered a formal request in April to enter talks on paying reparations Athens claims Greece is owed from both world wars.

Merkel didn't mention the issue at the news conference, but Germany has said before that the question of World War II reparations to Greece had been settled.

Greece estimates it could claim minimum reparations of 292 billion euros ($323 billion) for Germany's World War II occupation and 9.2 billion euros ($10.19 billion) for World War I.