The letter, first reported by The Financial Times, prompted a three-hour, late-night meeting last week in Brussels between Mr. Tsipras and the German, French and European leaders, Mr. Sakellaridis said. Mr. Tsipras “was listened to” in Brussels, he said, adding that Athens was not joking when it said it would soon face a stark choice between paying state salaries and pensions or paying creditors.

“It’s not a threat, it’s reality,” Mr. Sakellaridis said.

Ms. Merkel emphasized that Germany, while important, cannot speak for the other nations in the eurozone and thus no binding agreements on Greece’s debt could be expected Monday night.

But it was clear that she and Mr. Tsipras recognized the need to ratchet down the emotions — about Nazi war crimes in Greece, or stereotypes of “lazy Greeks” or mean Germans, as the Greek leader put it — and that their respective voters needed to see them do this together.

Some Germans may have lost sight of the horror of Nazi occupation in Greece, Ms. Merkel noted. At least 80,000 Greeks were killed by the Germans. For his part, Mr. Tsipras said that a forced loan to the Nazis in 1942 was an ethical, moral issue, which he plainly regarded as outstanding, while the current German government said it considered the reparations issue closed.

Most important, both leaders said, stereotypes should be abandoned. “Europe is built on the idea that each country is as important as the other,” Ms. Merkel said with some passion. “Everyone has one vote and that is what characterizes our peaceful life together in Europe.”

Since the start of the Greek crisis almost five years ago, she noted, she had opposed talk of “the Italians, the Greeks, the Irish or the Germans.” Making sweeping collective judgments “is exactly what Europe is not,” she said. “And I am moved by this idea when I make politics. This is such a precious thing that we must make every effort to nurture it well in future.”

Mr. Tsipras said of the talks so far: “I must say that the chancellor listens and would like to make constructive progress.”