During Foreign Minister Baerbock's visit to Athens, differences on demanded reparations and submarine sales to Turkey become clear. In the territorial dispute between the neighboring countries, Baerbock is on the side of Greece. She also admits to "wounds and scars".
In the territorial dispute between Turkey and Greece, Germany has clearly sided with Greece. Immediately before her first visit to Turkey, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock rejected Turkish territorial claims in the Aegean and called on Ankara to respect Greece's sovereignty. However, differences were also evident. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias criticized the planned delivery of German submarines to Turkey. There is also disagreement on the subject of war reparations.
Regarding Turkish territorial claims, Baerbock said: "Greek islands are Greek territory and nobody has the right to question that". In terms of international law, this is "very simple". The federal government will "leave no doubt that we stand in solidarity with Greece," she said. She will represent this attitude during her visit to Turkey.
Baerbock called on Turkey and Greece to resolve their differences "in conversation". This is the natural path for NATO allies. She warned: "Fighting within the ranks of the alliance is exactly what the Russian president wants." In this context, the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias criticized the planned delivery of German submarines to Turkey. "With these submarines, there is a great danger that the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean will be upset," said Dendias at the joint press conference with Baerbock.
Tensions between Greece and Turkey have recently increased again. However, the two neighboring countries are allies in NATO, but their relations have been difficult for decades. Above all, competing territorial claims in the Aegean lead to disputes. On Tuesday, Turkey announced that it would resume its controversial exploration for gas drilling in the Mediterranean - this could spark a new dispute with Greece.
On the question of war reparations to Greece, differences came to light during Baerbock's visit to Athens. Foreign Minister Dendias stressed that his government maintained its demand for compensation payments for the period of German occupation between 1941 and 1944. Baerbock reiterated the position of the federal government, which sees no legal basis for such demands.
For the Greek government "and also for the whole of Greek society" the reparation issue is "still open," said Dendias. "It's a matter of principle that should be of particular importance to both of us." Baerbock expressed understanding "that the Greek government does not see the legal issues as closed". The Foreign Minister offered Greece a dialogue on how to proceed.
With a view to refugee policy, Baerbock criticized the deportation of migrants at the EU's external border, as the Greek coast guard is accused of. It must be ensured "that there are no human rights violations at the border," said Baerbock. "For me, that includes pushbacks." However, she did not raise any accusations against Greece: Securing the borders is a "common European task". According to Baerbock, a solution would be a joint European rescue service.
The planned German-Greek armored ring exchange also played a role in the conversation between Baerbock and Dendias. The process is "close to completion," Dendias said. Baerbock said the German tanks should be delivered to Greece quickly so that Greece in turn could transfer tanks to Ukraine.
In Athens, Baerbock was critical of the former CDU-led government's policy on Greece during the euro debt crisis. The "special friendship" between Greeks and Germans is "not free from wounds and scars," she said. "Part of it goes back to the time of the euro crisis," she said. "We didn't do everything right back then. We didn't listen enough."
