STORY: Greece raises WWII reparations issue during German President's visit
SHOOTING DATE: Oct. 30, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:13
LOCATION: Athens
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (German): FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, German President

STORYLINE:

Greek political leaders raised the issue of World War II reparations and a forced occupation loan with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday during his three-day visit to Greece.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister
"As you know, for Greece, the question of reparations and in particular the forced occupation loan... these issues are still very much alive and we hope that at some point we will resolve them."
   
The outstanding issue is of great importance to Greek people, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said during separate talks with Steinmeier, according to a press release.

For Germany, legally the issue has closed, however, the country remains committed to its historical responsibility, the German leader responded, according to Greek national news agency AMNA.
     
SOUNDBITE 2 (German): FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, German President
"We take a different view on the legal issue you have raised. We know that Germany considers the legal issue of reparations to be closed to the people, but we nevertheless recognize our historical and moral responsibility."

During WWII in Thessaloniki, some 50,000 Greek Jews were loaded onto trains bound for prison camps.
   
On Thursday, Steinmeier was scheduled to visit Kandanos, a village on Crete island that suffered atrocities committed by Nazi forces.
   
The agenda of the German leader's three-day visit also includes tours to German companies and a refugee camp near Athens. The two sides discussed the further strengthening of bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, as well as common challenges such as irregular migration flows to European countries. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Athens.
(XHTV)