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The special tension in Greek-German relations was expressed in a protest note sent by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs to that of Germany. Through it, Athens expressed its disappointment with the statements by Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble against his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis.

According to reliable sources, sending a protest note was considered indispensable as the qualifications used by Wolfgang Schaeuble, who defined Yanis Varoufakis as "foolishly naive", did not correspond to good manners and Athens had to react. Both the protest note and the wave of critical statements against the German Minister of Finance made by the cabinet members are part of a general response plan, which will continue to apply at the political and diplomatic level and, according to government officials, "no challenge will remain unanswered henceforth."

The response of Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to statements by representatives of Germany’s government, chancellery, Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs that the issue of war reparations did not exist for Berlin was equally violent.

Especially sharp was the reaction to statements by Suzanne Scheib, a spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said that as far as she knew, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias had not raised the issue of reparations during his last visit to Berlin. This statement was also considered unethical and spokesman for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Koutras stressed in response, "As far as I know, the issue of German war reparations was raised during the visit of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in Berlin on 10 February 2015, both at the joint press conference and the confidential meeting between the two ministers. During the meeting, Nikos Kotzias proposed to his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier to form a common Greek-German commission to examine all sides of the issue."

The strained Greek-German relations are the concern of governmental and diplomatic representatives. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias considers as absolutely necessary his decision to determine former Ambassador of Greece in Berlin Dimitris Ralis a coordinator of Greek-German relations. According to sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not renew the contract of George Chatzimarkakis, former MEP, whom ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos had appointed Ambassador at Large. George Chatzimarkakis signed a cooperation agreement on 5 November 2014 for a period of six months, with a major emphasis on Greek-German relations but after 5 April, Dimitris Ralis will deal with the issue.

Meanwhile, the American newspaper New York Times states that certain Greek media had mistranslated the conversation between Schaeuble and Varoufakis. According to the paper, in his comments to journalists in Brussels on Monday evening, Schaeuble had said he had had a long and intense conversation with Varoufakis. Germany’s Minister of Finance said that both had criticized the poor quality of certain media. Speaking in German, the publication continues, Schaeuble told reporters that it had never occurred to him that his Greek counterpart had become "suddenly naive" as an interlocutor. Subsequently, certain media mistranslated the phrase, saying that the German Minister of Finance had called his Greek counterpart "foolishly naive".

Yanis Varoufakis declined to comment on the statements by Wolfgang Schaeuble, stressing that it was his political decision, but also a civilizational position not to participate "in opposition that dazzles all." "I will not fall into the trap of bad behaviour", he added.

The Greek Minister of Finance also stressed that whenever he mentioned his German colleague, he always did so "with great respect for the man who has been aware of things from inside for four decades" and that when they met, they talked "in an especially civilized, interesting and constructive way."

Varoufakis, however, revealed one of the conversations held with Schaeuble at one of their meetings, "During one of my meetings with Mr. Schaeuble, he told me that I had lost the confidence of the German Government and I replied that I had never had it since I am a member of the government of the radical left. I take it for granted that I do not have your confidence but I have the confidence of the Greek people and I want to earn yours just as you want to earn mine. The only way to do so is to identify some common goals and to achieve them."