Hamburg - Germany and Poland showed no signs Friday of settling the dispute over a controversial museum appointment, as the neighbours' heads of state met for an historic dinner in the German city of Hamburg.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were meeting for the first time since an ongoing dispute over a museum remembering expulsions after World War II had flared up again in recent weeks.

Ethnic Germans forced out of eastern Europe after the war have demanded that their national leader, Erika Steinbach, be appointed to the board of a planned taxpayer-funded museum in Berlin depicting the refugees' ordeal.

However Steinbach has been vilified in Poland as a divisive figure, representative of a perceived ethnic German desire for retribution over the wrongdoings of the past.

Merkel and Tusk spoke privately for 30 minutes Friday evening, but did not release details of their conversation.

The leaders were both in Hamburg for the historic 'Matthiae' dinner, an event celebrated since 1356 in the city's town hall.

Shortly before the encounter, Tusk told German daily Financial Times Deutschland, if Steinbach were appointed to the proposed museum's board, it would be "painful for our Polish sensitivities about the truth regarding World War II."

The Polish premier said he expected a decision from the German government that "served the authentic German-Polish friendship."

Tusk called the appointment an internal German issue, but asked for the Polish point of view to be taken into account.

"I have always used my authority to promote good German-Polish relations," he said.

Merkel has refused to be drawn on a possible date for the appointment of the 13-member board.

Steinbach is a member of Merkel's Christian Democrat party, and some analysts believe the decision will be put off until after Germany's general election due in September.

Merkel spoke Friday of the spirit of "reconciliation" that was central to the entire project. "This spirit must also be implemented during the last stage," she said, adding that "it will take a few more days."

Her meeting with Tusk, with whom she had discussed the matter in the past, would not change that, Merkel said.

"Nevertheless we will have a friendly discussion about all bilateral and multilateral problems," Merkel had told reporters earlier in the day. (dpa)