Speaking after talks with her Polish counterpart, Annalena Baerbock told reporters that she and Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau had discussed a Polish diplomatic note to Germany on WWII reparations.
She reiterated the German government's position that the matter was settled, the Reuters news agency reported.
A day earlier, Poland’s Rau signed a formal diplomatic note to the German government to demand reparations for World War II at a televised news conference in Warsaw ahead of Baerbock's visit.
Rau said on Monday that the document “reflects the Polish foreign minister’s conviction that parties should take steps without delay to regulate legally and materially, in a lasting, comprehensive and final manner, the consequences of German aggression and occupation in the years between 1939 and 1945.”
He added that a "settlement" between Warsaw and Berlin would “lead to the closure of painful chapters from the past and ensure further growth of bilateral relations in the spirit of good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation.”
Warsaw seeks good cooperation with Berlin on WWII reparations: Polish FM
Rau told reporters at a joint news conference with Baerbock in Warsaw on Tuesday that Poland was "counting on good cooperation" with the German government on resolving the issue of reparations.
A report released in Warsaw at the start of last month put Poland’s WWII losses due to the German invasion and occupation at EUR 1.3 trillion.
Poland's conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński said at the time that "a decision has been made to raise the issue of World War II reparations with Berlin."
Kaczyński added: “It’s about securing compensation, maybe through a long and arduous process, for everything that Germany, the German state, the German nation, did to Poland between 1939 and 1945.”
The lower house of Poland's parliament in mid-September adopted a resolution calling on the German government “to explicitly assume political, historical, legal and financial responsibility for all the consequences caused in the Republic of Poland and to the citizens of the Republic of Poland as a result of the German Third Reich starting World War II.”
The resolution, drafted by Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, was approved in a 418-4 vote, with 15 abstentions, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month: “I am convinced that we will receive reparations from Germany, although it won’t happen quickly."
He added: "Even the most difficult journey begins with the first step."
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, TVP Info