From: zarros@turing.scs.carleton.ca (Theodoros Sp. Zarros)
Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 10 Feb 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa).

Athens News Agency Bulletin, 

	Brussels, 10/2/1994 (Reuter): NATO agreed yesterday to order
air strikes against Bosnian Serb forces besieging Sarajevo
unless they withdraw artillery and other weapons or put them
under UN control within 10 days. Diplomats said the 16 allies
agreed at a marathon meeting in Brussels that there could be no
extension of the ultimatum and no further warnings.

	Greece and Canada reaffirmed their reluctance to the use of
force, Greece being alone among NATO member-states to
differentiate its attitude. Its reservations were included in
the Atlantic Council minutes as follows: "In view of latest
encouraging developments which, according to the reports
submitted by cochairmen Lord Owen and Mr. Stoltenberg,
registered in regard to demilitarization of Sarajevo, the Greek
government considers that pursuit of an identical objective
through violent means is not only meaningless, but also involves
an unavoidable risk of negative results and neutralization of
the whole effort to secure agreement among parties concerned on
the matter. As a result, the Greek government, apart from
broader reservations regarding the expediency and consequences
of attacks, and the resulting escalation of the conflict in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, cannot agree to the proposed draft decision
and dissociates its position on the matter".


	Athens, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Greece yesterday deplored the United
States Administration decision to recognize the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), saying that it was an "erroneous
step". The US Wednesday formally recognized FYROM, saying it
would establish full diplomatic relations with the neighboring
republic once it pledges to try to resolve differences with
Greece.

	Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos, in a statement late
last night, said: "The Greek government expresses discontent at
the decision of the US to recognize Skopje. "Such a development
cannot please Greece. It is an erroneous step on the part of the
US. It is significant, though, that the US has clearly expressed
reservations at establishing diplomatic relations with Skopje
linking such recognition to preconditions which, in substance,
refer to Skopje (symbols, constitution) and respect of human
rights".

	"Greece continues to stress in all directions that the problem
focuses on the following: The continuing provocativeness by
Skopje, which should, at long last, give concrete proof of
abandoning its intransigence and pseudo-irredentism. The Skopje
government must not misinterpret the meaning of today's
(yesterday) American move, and should refrain from feeding the
Republic's opinion with fleeting illusions on the pretext of
Skopje recognition by a number of states - mostly under the name
of FYROM. Skopje should realize that what is especially and
uniquely important for its welfare and development prospects, as
well as for the long-term stability in the broader region (of
the Balkans) is normalization of its relations with Greece. But
this calls for specific, practical moves on which Greece's
position has been made totally clear and remains steadfast. This
is the direction in which the attention and pressure of the
international community should turn to", Mr. Venizelos said.


	Athens, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou met
with US ambassador to Athens Thomas Niles yesterday to discuss
the issue, but no statements were made to news media. Main
Opposition New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert said in
Strasbourg yesterday, the US decision to grant diplomatic
recognition to Skopje was a "wrong option" and had caught the
Greek government by surprise.

	ND issued a statement saying the US dealt Greece a strong blow
by its decision to recognize the new Balkan state. It attributed
Washington's move to Greek government's "apathy and incapability
of dealing with unfavorable developments on the issue". Similar
reaction was voiced by Political Spring party leader and former
Foreign Minister Antonis Samaras who termed the US move as a
"rough landing in the recent Clinton-Papandreou romance".


	Washington, 10/2/1994 (Reuter-ANA - M. Georgiadou): The United
States Wednesday formally recognized the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, and said it would establish full
diplomatic relations with the Balkan state, once it pledges to
try to resolve differences with Greece.

	"This move is in recognition of the democratic expression of
the citizens of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to
establish a sovereign and independent state based on democratic
principles", the White House said in a statement announcing the
decision. The statement said that President Clinton had sent a
letter to President Kiro Gligorov conveying the decision which,
it said, would "help promote stability in the region". "In
extending formal recognition, we have taken into account the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's commitment to peaceful
cooperative relations and its respect for the territorial
integrity of all of its neighbors and the inviolability of
existing boundaries. Establishment of diplomatic relations will
take place upon receipt of assurances regarding matters of
importance to the US, including respect for CSCE norms and
principles, enforcement of UN imposed sanctions against Serbia
and Montenegro, and a commitment to work constructively with the
United Nations to resolve differences with our long-time ally
Greece. We recognize that Greece and The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia have outstanding differences which we
expect will be resolved though good faith negotiations. We
further expect that our recognizing The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia will encourage flexibility in addressing the
symbolic and constitutional issues which separate the two
parties so that they can overcome the problems that stand in the
way of a normal bilateral relationship. We believe that lasting
peace and stability in the Balkans depends on states' mutual
respect and adherence to CSCE principles. We also take note of
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's commitment to
democratic principles, to human rights, to the creation of an
open, free market economy and to its desire to seek peaceful
solutions to problems in the region".


	New York, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Archbishop Iakovos of North and
South America yesterday expressed sorrow at the diplomatic
recognition of Skopje (by the US government) which, he said, "in
the eyes of the people is tantamount to betrayal of
sensitivities of the American nation". "Recognition after
Washington's repetitive assurances that it will respect Greek
sensitivities on the Skopje and Cyprus issues has caused
overseas Greeks in the United States to remain speechless and
does not honor America, the leading nation of the free world",
the Archbishop said.


	Athens, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Greece said yesterday it would not
allow NATO aircraft to use the Aktion air base in Western
Greece, in the event the Alliance decided to carry out air
strikes in Bosnia. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos
added Greek crews currently serving with the airborne early
warning and control system planes (AWACS), would be withdrawn
"if their activity were connected with military operations".

	At the same time, the spokesman said, Greece would not veto any
NATO decision to commence air strikes, but would insist on
having its positions and reservations recorded in a footnote to
any final statement issued by the Alliance. Mr. Venizelos said
Greece's attitude, an outcome of a meeting of political party
leaders chaired by President Constantine Karamanlis in May, was
to be set out by Greece's envoy at yesterday's meeting of NATO
permanent representatives in Brussels. If Greece exercised its
right of veto, the spokesman said, it would in effect become a
party to the crisis in former Yugoslavia "and this is how it
would be viewed by the international community".

	Mr. Venizelos expressed the hope Greece would not find itself
"in such a dilemma", adding it was possible to find a peaceful
and viable solution to the crisis. Asked if there was a
possibility of a specific peace initiative for settling the
crisis, Mr. Venizelos replied "there is always a possibility".
"It is no coincidence that foreign ministers of both Balkan and
non-Balkan countries bordering former Yugoslavia are meeting
today (yesterday) in Geneva with international mediators Lord
Owen and Thorwald Stoltenberg", the spokesman said, adding
Turkey would not be represented at the meeting.

	Asked how Athens would respond if Turkish forces participated
in any air strikes in Bosnia, Mr. Venizelos "Greece will fully
and unequivocally reiterate its position, which is already
known". Greece has repeatedly said Balkan states should refrain
from participating in any military involvement in former
Yugoslavia.


	Vienna, 10/2/1994 (ANA - D. Dimitrakoudis / Reuter): Foreign
Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday lauded the agreement on a
cease-fire in Sarajevo, saying it was an "absolute confirmation
of Greece's stance not to consent to air strikes". In a
statement to the ANA on the end of protracted talks in Geneva
between foreign ministers of seven nations neighboring former
Yugoslavia and the co-chairmen of the conference on Former
Yugoslavia Lord David Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg, Mr.
Papoulias said: "Of course there should be reservations since
many times agreements have not been observed in the past.
However, it is hoped that observance will be successful this
time, especially owing to the gravity of the situation".

	Bosnian Serbs earlier yesterday agreed to a cease-fire in
Sarajevo, that would put their siege guns under UN control.
General Sir Michael Rose, commander of UN peacekeeping forces in
Bosnia, said senior officers of the rival Bosnian government and
Serb armies reached agreement on the pact at Sarajevo airport.
Attending yesterday's session were foreign ministers from
Austria, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Romania and a
deputy foreign minister from Hungary. Turkey, which had been
originally invited, decided not to attend.

	Mr. Papoulias said Greece would not give its consent for air
strikes because it believed they would achieve nothing, destroy
everything the peacekeeping process has achieved so far, and
dynamite the effort by the co-chairmen, adding that despite
backtracking considerable success had been achieved. The latest
news from Bosnia is positive news and bears out Greece's stance,
he said.

	Mr. Papoulias expressed satisfaction at yesterday's informal
session in Geneva, terming it "extremely interesting". Stressing
that the issue is an exclusive Balkan problem, Mr. Papoulias
said Balkan countries should play an important role in any
effort to find a peaceful solution. All support the plan of
European action for peace, for which there is no alternative
solution, he said.

	The session focused on possibilities of economic co-operation
in the region, after an end to hostilities and negative
repercussions for countries bordering former Yugoslavia stemming
from the embargo. It was agreed that the problem should be
raised at European Union agencies in a position to help in
planning infrastructure projects in the wider region and their
inclusion in various EU programs. In a statements to ANA, Mr.
Papoulias said all participants agreed that no solution exists
other than survival of the European plan of action. Moreover,
all of them reiterated they felt grave concern at the danger of
the conflict spreading south in the Balkans.


	Strasbourg, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Alternate Foreign Minister
Theodoros Pangalos yesterday outlined the Greek Presidency's
views on European Union enlargement at a European Parliament
plenary session, underlining existing difficulties in
enlargement negotiations on the accession of Austria, Norway,
Sweden and Finland. Mr. Pangalos expressed the Presidency's
satisfaction over "results achieved in negotiations so far",
stressing that "a great deal of work is still necessary" for
negotiations to be completed by the end of February. He
reiterated that the Presidency is determined to maintain the
present impetus in negotiations.

	The Greek Presidency has planned a special meeting on
enlargement negotiations at ministerial level on February 21-22
and a marathon meeting of ministers on February 25-28. Mr.
Pangalos referred to political difficulties in the negotiations
and said that all states, both candidates and European Union
members, should shoulder their responsibilities. According to
Community sources, most matters requiring a solution lie in the
sectors of agriculture, where "400 technical points remain
open", and regional policy primarily concerning allocation of
Structural Fund resources.


	Athens, 10/2/1994 (ANA): Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Carey
begins a six-day visit to Greece today, for talks with church of
Greece clerics. The visit is response to an invitation
Archbishop Serapheim of Athens, Primate of Greece. Dr. Carey is
accompanied by Ms. Carey, the Rt. Revd. John Hind, newly
appointed Anglican Bishop of Europe, and other clergy. He is
scheduled to call on the President of the Republic, the Prime
Minister, the Foreign Minister, take part in various discussions
and visits, and meet members of the Anglican community in Athens
and leaders of other denominations and faiths. The Archbishop of
Canterbury will officiate at a service in St. Paul's Anglican
Church.