The Greek government says Germany
owes Greece nearly €279bn (£204bn; $303bn) in war reparations for the
Nazi occupation during World War Two.
It is the first time Greece
has officially calculated what Germany allegedly owes it for Nazi
atrocities and looting during the 1940s.
However, the German government says the issue was resolved legally years ago.
Greece's radical left Syriza government is making the claim while struggling to meet massive debt repayment deadlines.
Greek
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras raised the reparations issue when he met
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last month.
The new
figure given by Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas includes
€10.3bn for an occupation loan that the Nazis forced the Bank of Greece
to pay.
"According to our calculations, the debt linked to German
reparations is 278.7bn euros," Mr Mardas told a parliamentary committee
investigating responsibility for Greece's debt crisis.
Mr Mardas said the reparations calculation had been made by Greece's state general accounting office.
Berlin paid 115m Deutschmark
s to Athens in 1960 in compensation - a
fraction of the Greek demand. Greece says it did not cover payments for
damaged infrastructure, war crimes and the return of the forced loan.
Germany insists the reparations issue was settled in 1990 legally and politically before Germany reunified.
Syriza
politicians have frequently blamed Germany for the hardship suffered by
Greeks under the tough bailout conditions imposed by international
lenders.
Mr Tsipras is trying to renegotiate the €240bn EU-IMF
bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy. Greece has not received
bailout funds since August last year, as the lenders are dissatisfied
with the pace of Greek reforms.
A Greek repayment of €448m to the International Monetary Fund is due this Thursday.
Greek
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that Greece "intends to meet
all obligations to all its creditors, ad infinitum".
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