AP reports from Athens that German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens Thursday, with Greek authorities banning demonstrations in a large part of the capital’s center and shutting down streets and subway stations for security reasons.
Nearly 2,000 officers, a police helicopter and drones were deployed for the visit, which ends Friday afternoon.
Germany was the biggest single contributor to the three international bailout packages Greece received from 2010-2018 as it struggled through a dramatic financial crisis which almost saw it crash out of the eurozone. But Germany was also seen by many Greeks as one of the main enforcers of stringent austerity measures, including tax hikes and pension and salary cuts, imposed in return for the rescue loans.
Far-right and far-left groups have planned separate protests in Athens later Thursday against Merkel’s visit, but police said no demonstrators would be permitted anywhere near the chancellor.
In a televised preliminary chat with Tsipras before the talks, Merkel stressed the improvement of Greece’s finances following the bailouts.
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