Talks with Greece show desire to collaborate, says Merkel

(AGI) Berlin, Mar 23 - Talks between Germany and Greece onMonday showed a desire for collaboration, said GermanChancellor Angela Merkel. "We want Greece to be economicallystrong, we want Greece to have growth," Ms Merkel told a jointnews conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Therewere still differences to be ironed out, and the new Greekreforms would not be judged by Germany alone, but by the entirebloc of eurozone nations. Mr Tsipras said Athens was preparedto respect its commitments, on condition that social justiceprevailed. The treaties should be respected, but it was time toimplement large-scale structural reforms and combat tax evasionand corruption. Splits within the eurozone should be "avoided"and solutions that would benefit both Greece and Europe wereneeded. He went on to say that Greece had not come to the talksto try and solve its liquidity problems, but to seek mutualpolitical ground on which to move forward. Monday's meetingcould prove to be the first step in new relations between thetwo countries. Referring to the treatment meted out to Germanyby the Greek press, Mr Tsipras said it was wrong to provoke MsMerkel and the Germans with caricatures and that Mrs Merkel wasa person who listened and was keen to promote the exchange ofideas.. .