Greece's deputy finance minister has said war reparations owed by Germany amount to €278.7bn.

Speaking at parliamentary committee on Monday, Dimitris Mardas announced the figures calculated by the country's accounting office.

Though Greek governments and private citizens have pursued war damages for decades, it is the first time a government has announced a definite sum.

According to the Guardian, A parliamentary panel was set up last week by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to prepare a claim for the repayment of a wartime loan and the return of archaeological treasures taken during occupation.

In 1942 the Greek collaboration government was forced to pay an interest free loan of Nazi Germany 476m Reichsmark (about €10.3bn).

Germany has been unimpressed with the Greek government's persistence on the issue during talks over the country's new bailout package.

The German government insists it honoured its obligations with a payment of 115m Deutschmark in 1960 (roughly €204.24m today).