A passionate kiss with his wife Carmen outside German Chancellery in Berlin during a visit there by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for a meeting with Angela Merkel last Monday was aimed at conveying a message of reconciliation between the two leaders.

The “smooch” attracted international media attention and was part of the “Avaaz” a campaign, which is the largest citizens’ movement with 41 million members worldwide, a group that organizes events to bring the views and values of its supporters to the heart of political decisions.

More than 135,000 German and Greek citizens have already signed a relevant resolution.

Greek-German Astros Hatziastros spoke to protothema.gr about relations between the German and Greek people, pointing out that German citizens fully understand the circumstances prevailing in Greece and are not as strict as their politicians.

He also said the “specific kiss was spontaneous, not random”.

“This gathering was organized by the Avaaz, of which myself and my wife are members. We knew that the theme of the demonstration was to hug and kiss in order to highlight the Greek-German friendship. Indeed Greeks and Germans who were not couples hugged and kissed each other for this purpose.”