Side by side, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, aged 40, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aged 60, appeared together sharing different visions but hopefully keeping their eye on the same goal.

They both hoped that the meeting would end the vicious stereotypes and name-calling between both nations following weeks of bitter acrimony and fiery rhetoric. Visiting Berlin, Tsipras told Germans that Greeks aren’t “lazy louts nor are the Germans to blame for Greece’s ills.” Merkel too said that Europe must break these stereotypes.

“We both have a vested interest in building cooperation based on trust,” she said. Tsipras, too, confirmed her interest in listening and making progress.

Tsipras was welcomed with military honors in Berlin before meeting with Angela Merkel.

Tsipras insisted that a “new political mix” be found, but Merkel said that the only solution is fiscal discipline. Painful historical memories resurfaced from World War II. He called this a “moral issue”. On her part, Merkel said that the issue has already been “politically and legally resolved.”