Polish PM on first German visit

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Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is starting his first visit to Germany since taking office last month.

Both Poland and Germany have promised a new chapter in their relations which worsened significantly under Poland's previous conservative government.

Mr Tusk will meet both the German chancellor and president during his brief visit to Berlin.

The German government's spokesman said he expected relations with Poland to be revitalised by the visit.

Low point

Under Mr Tusk's predecessor, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, relations between the two countries broke down almost completely.

A low point was reached during the summer when Mr Kaczynski demanded greater EU voting rights because of Poland's World War II dead.

The prime minister argued that Poland would have had a much larger population today if German soldiers had not murdered six million Polish citizens during the war.

Despite Donald Tusk's greater openness, significant issues still divide the neighbours.

Warsaw wants Germany to scrap its plans to build a pipeline supplying Russian gas under the Baltic Sea which bypasses Poland.

It also opposes a plan to build a museum in Berlin commemorating the millions of Germans who were expelled from their homes at the end of the war.