Greece’s insistence on German reparations for World War II is a “dumb” distraction, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy said, snubbing a claim of 278.7 billion euros ($303 billion) calculated by the government in Athens.
As Germany seeks a way to aid Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government and keep the euro area intact, reparations demands are unrelated and make it easier for critics to balk at helping Greece, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said Tuesday.
