AngqwBERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Greece next week to support "stronger" reform efforts in Athens, a spokesman said on Friday, in her first trip since the crisis erupted nearly three years ago.

 

Merkel will travel to Athens on Tuesday for talks with counterpart Antonis Samaras that will revolve around the situation in the debt-wracked country as well as the wider eurozone, Steffen Seibert told a regular news briefing.

 

"The message that Germany can take to Greece is that we want to help Greece stabilise itself within the eurozone," he stressed.

 

"We are doing that by massively contributing to the two aid packages that are supposed to help Greece come out of the crisis."

 

He reiterated aid was only possible if Greece stuck to the austerity cuts demanded by international creditors but said Berlin saw greater efforts being made under Samaras.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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