BERLIN, March 23: The leaders of debt-wracked Greece and economic powerhouse Germany meet in Berlin Monday after weeks of bad feeling over Athens's borrowing woes, bitter wartime memories and an offensive hand gesture.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive Greece's radical left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has blamed her insistence on tough austerity for his country's "humanitarian crisis" of poverty and mass unemployment.
Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos turned the screw on Athens another notch Sunday by insisting that it will not receive any money until it implements all its proposed reforms.
Merkel also insists that if cash-strapped Greece wants more bailout loans, the biggest share of which is financed by Germany, it must accept the bitter medicine of cuts and reforms.
Talking to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini ahead of the visit, Tsipras said the meeting with Merkel would be an opportunity to talk "without the pressure of any negotiation".
"It's important because we will be able to talk about topics which are damaging Europe, and about how to improve relations between our two countries," he said.    ?AFP