Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said last night that the situation in Yugoslavia was "critical" and that the coming days would be "decisive for the case of peace".
Speaking after a day of talks, first in Belgrade with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic and later in Rome with his Italian counterpart Susanna Agnelli, Mr. Papoulias said Greece and Italy concurred on the need for a peaceful resolution and both Rome and Athens called on the European Union to "play the role that behooves it".
Mr. Papoulias said his 90-minute talks with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic yesterday were "very important" and took place at a critical time, necessitating the joint mobilization of all forces wanting peace.
"We must unite our strength to overcome the crisis or the tragedy will spread. We will maintain constant contact with the Serb leadership in coming days to coordinate our efforts and the coming days will be decisive for the case of peace," he said after his talks.
Replying to questioners on whether Greece indicated its concern over Serb refugees from Krajina settling in Kosovo, Mr. Papoulias said the problem was an internal one for Yugoslavia and that political decisions taken by the Yugoslav and Serb leadership were aimed at maintaining balances and creating a climate of peace. "The Greek government has always been with those forces siding with peace and the finding of political solutions through negotiations," Mr. Papoulias added.
He said that from the outset Greece was among the few supporting the lifting of sanctions, because it was an obstacle to efforts for peace. "One cannot impose sanctions on those struggling for peace," he said, stressing that President Milosevic was a major protagonist in the restoration of peace in the region. He said the sanctions had to be lifted and that Russia agreed with this position.
Mr. Papoulias avoided a direct reply to the question of whether Greece would unilaterally lift sanctions, following Russia's announced intention to do so. "Greece is a member of the European Union and Russia is a member of the Contact Group for Yugoslavia. And whatever decisions are taken in this direction will be examined under this prism," he said.
Mr. Papoulias said the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was not discussed at length during his talks with President Milosevic but was discussed in a wider context since the issue of FYROM was one that originated from the Yugoslav crisis.
Replying to a questioner on whether Yugoslavia was close to accepting the new US peace plan for Bosnia, Yugoslavia's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, who was also present at the meeting, said Belgrade was examining all the peace plans - the US one, the Russian one and the plan promoted by Carl Bildt on behalf of the European Union.
Mr. Milutinovic said all three plans had a common characteristic and were aimed at restoring peace by political means. He said there were many possibilities for the US plan being accepted, but what was necessary was a rapprochement of views by all the warring sides.
An official statement issued after the talks by Mr. Milosevic's office said that Greece and Yugoslavia "have identical positions concerning the settlement of the Yugoslav crisis through political means."
"Athens and Belgrade express the common view that the decisive step should be taken which will steer the recent negative developments towards achieving lasting peace in the Balkans and securing the conditions for equality between states and peoples of t his region," the statement said.
"Greece," the statement concluded, "supports Yugoslavia's efforts for peace because it is convinced that the policy of peace is the only way to avoid the present tension and to extinguish the dangerous source of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina."
Italy and Greece agree on the need for a peaceful resolution to the Yugoslav crisis, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said after talks with his Italian counterpart Susanna Agnelli here last night.
He also underlined the role that the European Union, as well as other powers, could play in achieving this result. The present time is particularly critical but efforts are being deployed to achieve a positive result, he said.
He said there was a joint initiative with EU partner Italy to support these efforts and "we agree that the EU should play the role that behooves it". He said that, if the US plan worked towards peace, Greece would support it. He reiterated that Mr. Milosevic was a crucial player in attempts to overcome the crisis and was someone "on whom we can rely".
Ms Agnelli told the press she found Mr. Papoulias "worried" after his meeting with Mr. Milosevic, whom, she said, told the Greek foreign minister that "either we reach a solution soon or war will break out again".
She said that the US plan should be either accepted by all parties involved or should not be discussed, adding she would discover the details of the plan at a meeting in Geneva on Tuesday. Greece and Italy are the two countries closest to the sensitive region and the EU should make more efforts to find a solution, she said. "Precious time is lost when no initiatives are taken," she concluded.
Mr. Papoulias' trip to Belgrade and Rome came a week after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev in Sochi, a Black Sea resort. The Greek foreign minister was accompanied to Rome by Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, who were both expected in Athens late last night.
Greece's civil aviation authorities slapped a writ yesterday on air traffic controllers in a bid to block work stoppages planned for early next week.
Civil Aviation Authority sources said they would seek a ruling that the strikes were "illegal and an abuse of authority". They said they expected an Athens court to rule on the case tomorrow or Monday.
The writ also requests the court ban any further industrial action by air traffic controllers until September 15.
The air traffic controllers union said earlier this week they would hold three-hour work stoppages Monday and Tuesday to press for better pay and working conditions. The 500-member union accused the government of failing to legislate an agreement reached in June.
The CAA has claimed in its suit that the work stoppages would "seriously disrupt" the country's air transport services and worsen an already battered tourist season for Greece.
Foreign tourists, arriving in scores for summer holidays in Greece, faced long delays the same time last year as a result of similar action by air traffic controllers. Their moves were quelled when the then transport minister Theodoros Pangalos threatened to place the airport's air traffic controlling authority under the National Defense Ministry's jurisdiction.
In a statement yesterday, main opposition New Democracy party spokesman Vassilis Manginas said that the government's "inability to face in time the existing problems in the airports and ports will cause major inconvenience to thousands of Greeks and tourists, the defamation of Greece abroad and great economic damage."
The Hoteliers Chamber protested the repeated "irregularities" in sea and air transport links in a letter addressed to the minister of tourism yesterday.
President of the Chamber Aristotelis Divanis told minister Nikos Sifounakis that the situation at the ports and airports was "unacceptable" and "catastrophic" for tourism and the economy. Tourism is "under heavy fire", he said.
Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday that the Greek government's representatives in New York had been instructed to take all legal means to pressure a US publishing house to withdraw inaccuracies and mistakes in the maps of the Cyprus Republic and Former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.
"We have instructed our representatives in New York to pressure through legal means the company which published the maps to make the necessary corrections," Mr. Venizelos said.
According to an ANA dispatch from New York, the Randy McNally Cartography Company's atlas shows Cyprus divided into two states: Cyprus and "Northern Cyprus", the region of the island occupied by Turkey since 1974. The occupation regime's flag figures in the list of national flags and Nicosia is represented as the capital of "Northern Cyprus" which, according to the atlas, is a republic and its official language is Turkish.
Furthermore, it is reported in the map that the "'state's' currency is the Turkish lira and is inhabited by the Turkish-speaking population (99 per cent), Greeks, Maronites and others (1 per cent)".
The atlas presents FYROM under the name "Macedonia", saying that the state was recognized by the United Nations in April 1993 but omitting to mention that the UN recognized the republic then under the provisional name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and not "Macedonia". The map also shows the ancient Greek Vergina Star as FYROM's national flag.
Greece argues that the use by FYROM of ancient Hellenic symbols, such as the Vergina Star, and of the name 'Macedonia', implies territorial designs against its northern province of the same name. It has imposed a trade embargo against FYROM in a bid to pressure the new Balkan state to change its name, flag and the preamble of its constitution which contains irredentist designs against Greece.
Mr. Venizelos said the need to rectify the mistake was required "not only for reasons of respect towards the international community and Greek sensitivities but to preserve the credibility of the company which publishes international maps".
In New York, Greek-American organizations have strongly protested to the Randy McNally company and the news weekly "Newsweek", which has offered the atlas to its subscribers. In Nicosia, Cyprus government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides told the press that all efforts were being deployed in order to force the publishers to rectify the mistakes and reissue the atlas.
The Albanian consulate in Ioannina officially opened recently and has already issued the first visas for Greek citizens wishing to travel to the neighboring country.
The opening of a consulate in Ioannina and the reciprocal opening of a Greek consulate in Gyrokastr has come about on the basis of a recent agreement between the two states.
Foreign Under-secretary for Overseas Greeks Grigoris Niotis met yesterday with Archbishop of North and South America Iakovos.
"I consider him a great personality and a personal adviser of ours in efforts we are making to safeguard world co-operation and unity of Hellenism," Mr. Niotis told reporters after the meeting.
Referring to the Archbishop's stepping down from his throne, Mr. Niotis said "we believe that he will remain a supporter and adviser of ours on the major issues of Hellenism."
On his part, Archbishop Iakovos said he and Mr. Niotis discussed the future of expatriate organizations in the US which, he said, had offered a great deal. On the issue of his departure from his post, Archbishop Iakovos said he would continue to offer his services to the Church and Greece.
Replying to questioners on the Cyprus issue, he said "Cyprus is a member of the United Nations and no one can divide or share it. We regret that the UN has not yet been able to resolve the problem which it also created in part."
Commenting on the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Archbishop Iakovos reiterated that FYROM was a Greek center during the Byzantine Empire and Macedonia in its entirety could not be conceived of outside the map and history of Greece.
Workers at the Elefsina Shipyards, threatened by the closure of the yards and loss of their jobs, said yesterday that the government's last-ditch attempt to save the shipyards could fall short.
Speaking after rallies in Athens and subsequent meetings with Commercial Bank representatives, union leaders said they feared the government's proposal to put the shipyards into liquidation would lead to either closure or privatization and continued to press for the Commercial Bank - a major shareholder in the yards - to appoint a caretaker administration.
In the long-term, they say, they want the state to create a single agency for the shipbuilding and repairs industry, based on the Skaramangas and Elefsina Shipyards, which account for 80 per cent of the sector.
Workers representatives expressed bitterness over the non-show of Commercial Bank Governor Panayiotis Poulis at their meeting yesterday. Instead, administrative members Mr. Louvaris and Mr. Perakis briefed the workers' representatives on the process of implementing the decision taken by the government on Thursday.
Afterwards, trade union Secretary-General Mr. G. Stephanopoulos said there was "distance" between the workers and the government's positions. The workers are considering "multiform mobilization" and many local agencies will meet at the Elefsina Labor Centre on Monday morning to prepare further industrial action.
The Industry Ministry has rejected the workers' proposal with Industry Minister Costas Simitis and Alternate Industry Minister Christos Rokofyllos saying the appointment of an administration by the Commercial Bank would entail the risk of the company being burdened with Peratikos' debts, while, at the same time, constituting a renationalization action, which lies outside the government's present policy.
Moreover, the prospect of a single agency is rejected due to commitments imposed by the European Union.
The Investment Bank S.A., a subsidiary of the Commercial Bank, will assume, following a proposal by the board of the "Elefsina Shipyards S.A." company, the company's regular administration until it is placed in liquidation while in operation.
The Investment Bank, as an administrator, will continue the shipyards' complete and unimpeded operation in the framework of government decisions.
However, the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) President Christos Protopappas, expressing a wide spectrum of trade union leadership, substantively supports the Industry Ministry's moves to save the shipyards and jobs.
These trade unionists prefer to place emphasis on the conditions with which the agreement will go ahead: no dismissals, excluding the possibility of the shipyards closing down and leaving the issue of ownership status open.
Restrictions on traffic in the city center will resume as of Monday. The odds-evens license plate system will be in effect as of Monday, every Monday from 7am-8pm through to Thursday and on Fridays from 7am-3pm.
Those residing in the restricted area may apply for special permits allowing them to use their vehicles at certain times in the morning and evening to return to their homes. The restrictions on circulation will again be lifted on July 31 next year and are lifted on official holidays.
Restrictions on vehicles circulating in the commercial triangle bounded by Stadiou, Athinas and Mitropoleos streets, are unchanged.
A Greek delegation headed by Transport and Communications Under-secretary Christos Kokkinovassilis discussed co-operation in road and sea transport and technical issues with an Iranian delegation, headed by Iranian Transport Minister Mohamed Saedenezad, yesterday.
The Iranians called for Greece's contribution to sea transport via the port of Volos and a certain port in the Middle East and know-how on vehicle techniques. In parallel, they requested tripartite co-operation with countries in the former Soviet Union. Mr. Kokkinovassilis said the issues were examined positively and would be promoted accordingly.
North Atlantic Assembly (NAA) President Karsten Voigt is due in Athens tomorrow on a five-day visit, it was announced yesterday.
Mr. Voigt, who will be in Athens until August 24, will hold talks with Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, National Defense Under-secretary Nikos Kouris, and members of the Greek parliamentary delegation to the Assembly.
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and his wife, Demetra Liani-Papandreou, were given the keys to the city of Elounda, Crete, on Thursday night during a ceremony at the Elounda Bay Hotel.
The function was attended by Merchant Marine Minister George Katsifaras, Public Order Minister Sifis Valyrakis, Social Security Under-secretary Foivos Ioannidis and deputies, church officials and local authorities.
The president of the Elounda Community Council, Markos Arnaoutakis, thanked the premier and his wife for their "love and affection" for the seaside resort.
Receiving the key, the prime minister said he was deeply moved by the honor bestowed on him and his wife and that he would always be spiritually tied to the town.
"Much ties me to this island. Struggle for democracy, struggle for creation and development, and, of course, the greatly significant meeting between (former French President Francois) Mitterrand and (Libyan leader Colonel Muammar) Khadafi, which left it s stamp as a great European and international event of significance. It was resolved, in essence, here at Elounda," he said.
"The days we are going through," he continued, "are probably not very good. We must, however, always remain optimistic and I do not say this to give comfort. We must be optimistic. We have been through difficult times. I think that gradually the horizon is opening up for us to pass through to a rapid developmental course which will solve many of the problems facing our people and economy. We are slowly building, at a pace developments allow us, a better tomorrow for the nation and the people."
Following the ceremony, the premier and his wife were guests of honor at a cocktail party at the hotel.
Britain's Prince Charles wrapped up his Greek island holiday yesterday when he and his entourage arrived on the island of Crete to fly back to the United Kingdom. Prince Charles, accompanied by his two sons and a number of friends, toured the isles on a "super-yacht" provided by Greek shipping tycoon Yannis Latsis.
The National Defense Ministry has announced 2,000 positions for a five-year tour of duty with the army on the basis of law 1513/1989. Further information is available from recruitment offices and public information offices in Athens, Valtetsiou 17, tel. 3621258 and Paparigopoulou 2, Klafthmonos Square, tel. 3234259 and in Thessaloniki, Angelaki and Egnatias, tel. 031-281130.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) announced with regret yesterday the death of Kostas Vasalos, former deputy and long-standing member of the party. He was 94.
The announcement said that the late Mr. Vasalos was "one of the most committed members of the KKE, a staunch supporter of the people's rights in the face of fascism, (a supporter of) peaceful independence, social progress and socialism".
Mr. Vasalos was twice elected to parliament as MP for Lesvos. His funeral will be held on Sunday in Mytilini.