Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin on Monday night and some conciliatory tones and words were exchanged and repeated for the media.

But it is clear that the long-standing impasse between the two countries is not being resolved. The two went to great length to say that they were trying to repair the relationship between the two countries and that they wanted to remove stereotypes. But Greece’s push for war reparations, coupled with Germany’s insistence on prompt payment of debts showed that nothing much has been achieved yet.

Greece risks a cash crunch in the coming weeks if it does not present a list of reforms to its creditors in return for another bailout payment. Merkel was careful to point out Germany was only one of the eurozone nations that would be responsible for deciding whether Greece's reforms are sufficient, and said no decisions had been made in her talks with Tsipras.

Meanwhile, Tsipras said he was in Germany to exchange views and ideas, not to ask for financial help.

Tsipras' Syriza party won general elections with the campaign promise to end the spending cuts favoured by Germany in exchange for €240 billion in international bailout money. His new government agreed a month ago to push through reforms in exchange for keeping European Union aid flowing, but has delayed submitting the measures for approval.

The list – which contains some proposals which have been lampooned in both the Greek and international press – were supposed to be submitted weeks ago. But despite Eurozone meetings, the meeting with Merkel and a European Union summit in Brussels last week, they have not yet been made public.

Malta is also one of Greece’s creditors and the government has made it clear that while it is willing to be flexible, it expects to be paid back the loan it has already issued in full.

Tsipras and Merkel have both moved away from classifying the bailout issue as a bilateral one. But while Tsipras has said that the issue of war reparations should come into the bailout conditions, Merkel said that she believes that things are precisely the opposite and they should be treated as bilateral issues.

Greece is running out of time. If it’s banks run out of cash in the next few weeks, then we could be looking at the much maligned Grexit – that is Greece leaving the eurozone. Such a move would seriously dent the credibility of the single currency, but many have said that this is what was destined to happen right from the very beginning of the Greek financial crisis.

Whatever the eventual outcome, Tsipras must jolt his government into action to present proposals which might appease the EU and allow more aid money to the cash strapped country. If not, then Greece will have to print its own money and start from scratch. That might pose benefits, especially in terms of tourism, but its financial credibility will be dented in such a way that it might not ever recover.