Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-03-20
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 20/03/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Greek, Cypriot ministers confer on accession talks
- Athens responds to Cem proposal
- Greek multinational force plan gaining ground
- Olympic Airways workers meet on new reform plan
- Policeman killed in shoot-out
- More police on the streets
- Israeli delegation in town for talks
- PM briefs president on fiscal developments
- Deputy French education minister to visit Athens
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Greek, Cypriot ministers confer on accession talks
Cyprus Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou today briefed Foreign Undersecretary
Yiannos Kranidiotis on developments in the run-up to negotiations for the
island republic's accession to the European Union which are due to open on
March 31.
Also discussed were recent developments in the Cyprus problem, particularly
the increased intransigence of the Turkish Cypriot side which has refused
an offer to participate in the negotiations.
Omirou and Kranidiotis also discussed defence issues and confirmed the
desire of both governments for constant coordination between the two
countries in order to attain Cyprus' target of EU accession and resolve the
Cyprus problem.
Kranidiotis on Monday will meet with the UN Secretary General's special
representative for the Cyprus problem, Diego Cordovez to discuss recent
developments following the envoy's talks yesterday with Turkish Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash and today with President Glafcos Clerides in
Cyprus.
Although prospects for Cyprus' accession were good, Kranidiotis said, there
will be difficulties along the way which will require alertness and
cooperation between Greece and Cyprus.
Omirou said he had briefed Kranidiotis "on the recent reinforcement of the
Turkish occupation troops in Cyprus, which moreover have been deployed in
offensive array".
He called on international and European public opinion to understand that
"while we are ready to defend peace and stability in the region, on the
basis of a just settlement of the Cyprus problem, the Turkish side is
unfortunately continuing to act in a manner which undermines peace and
stability in this sensitive area of the Mediterranean".
Athens responds to Cem proposal
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos yesterday handed over the Greek
response to a proposal by his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today.
Reppas said the Greek response was handed to the Turkish ambassador in
Athens and reiterates Greece's standing position on the proposals, in
essence a rejection of Cem's five-point plan.
Pangalos also repeats his invitation to Cem for a meeting in Rhodes on the
sidelines of the meeting of the Western European Union foreign ministers.
Greece presently holds the six-month presidency of the Western European
Union.
Cem last month proposed a high-level meeting to identify problem areas in
the Aegean, formalise principles of good-neighbourly relations and bolster
confidence-building measures.
Athens said then that the five-point proposal was a simple restatement of
issues already being dealt with and of the standing Turkish position for
dialogue on all issues.
Athens said Ankara's suggestion for a high-level meeting to determine
points of contention could only be held in regard to the delineation of the
Aegean continental shelf.
Greek multinational force plan gaining ground
A proposal by National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos for a
multinational rapid deployment force in the Balkans appears to be gaining
ground, particularly after recent talks in Sofia on the issue, according to
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.
The foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey, Romania, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, at a meeting in Sofia on March 10,
signed a declaration condemning the ethnic violence in Kosovo and calling
for peaceful dialogue.
Reppas emphasised that any multinational force would need to have the
agreement of all the countries in the region.
Tsohatzopoulos, he said, had been having and would be continuing talks with
his counterparts on the issue.
Olympic Airways workers meet on new reform plan
Workers at Olympic Airways were closeted in a marathon meeting today to
discuss the specifics of the government's new five-year revitalisation plan
to save the ailing national carrier from closure.
Transport Minister Tasos Mantelis told a news conference yesterday that the
restructuring programme for 1998-2002 aimed to save 50 billion drachmas a
year.
Speakers at the meeting condemned the government's plan, saying that
workers would be bearing the burden of the measures.
Sources said the meeting would continue tomorrow to allow an in-depth
examination of the government's plan and to allow time for workers to draft
a response.
Policeman killed in shoot-out
A Greek policeman was killed early this morning in a shootout with Albanian
gunmen near the Greek-Bulgarian border outside of Katoria, police sources
said.
According to first reports, 30-year-old police officer Dimitris Zaromytis,
father of two children, was fatally injured when an unidentified man opened
fire with a machinegun on the police car he was driving.
The police car, with another two policemen inside, was chasing a "suspect"
truck heading for the border near a village near Gramos, when a man inside
the truck opened fire before it sped off.
Police later discovered 16 kilos of marijuana inside the truck which was
found abandoned at a short distance from where Zaromytis was killed.
According to the police, the truck had been stolen from the village of
Maniakia near Kastoria on Wednesday night.
In statements to the ANA, the president of the association of police
officers of Kastoria prefecture, George Siamidis, called for the stiffest
possible penalties for arms and drug smugglers coming from Albania who are
arrested in Greece.
He also urged a change in the police code which prohibits officers from
using their service revolvers first in order to defend themselves.
More police on the streets
The stepping up of police patrols to combat a recent increase in crime in
Athens have already brought results and the first signs are encouraging,
government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today.
Public Order Minister George Romeos told an all-party parliamentary
committee yesterday that 400 patrols went out on Wednesday night, 2,000
people were questioned and 40 arrests were made.
Romeos said earlier this week that street patrols would be stepped up by
bringing in officers normally on desk duties.
Reppas said that the patrols would be further intensified as of Monday when
1,000 new officers join the force proper after completing training.
Israeli delegation in town for talks
An Israeli delegation is due in Athens on Monday for a second round of
talks within the framework of political dialogue between the Greek and
Israeli foreign ministries.
An Israeli Embassy announcement today said the delegation would be headed
by Colette Avital, the foreign ministry's alternate secretary general for
West European affairs, who will have talks with Foreign Undersecretary
Yiannos Kranidiotis.
The Greek team will be headed by foreign ministry political director Ilias
Gounaris.
Discussion is expected to focus on bilateral relations and regional issues
of common interest.
PM briefs president on fiscal developments
Prime Minister Costas Simitis today briefed President of the Republic
Costis Stephanopoulos on developments after the Greek drachma's entry into
the EU's exchange rate mechanism and 14 percent devaluation over the
weekend.
After the 45-minute meeting, Simitis told reporters that the drachma's ERM
entry reflected Greece's ability to participate "with arguments and
positions" in the European developments, and that the progress achieved was
recognised.
"We shall take advantage of that progress," he said, adding that the EU was
"entering a new period of mobility in view of the decisions on participation
in economic and monetary union (EMU) to be taken in May, the commencement
of enlargement negotiations, and the decisions to be taken on economic
issues, Agenda-2000 and new policies".
Simitis described the discussion as "very cordial and in-depth".
Deputy French education minister to visit Athens
France's alternate minister of education, research and technology Segolene
Royal, who holds the portfolio on school education, arrives in Athens next
week to launch the Greek translation of her book "The Truths of a
Woman".
The Greek edition of "The Truths of a Woman - The experiences and visions
of a Minister of the French socialist government", has been published by
the Metamesonykties Ekdoseis publishing house.
The launching will take place Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the
Auditorium of the French Institute in Athens, in the presence of the French
Ambassador.
WEATHER
Light clouds with sleet or snowfall later in the day is forecast for
western and northern Greece. Winds westerly, moderate, turning to northerly
strong later. Partly cloudy with sunny spells in Athens with showers
expected in the afternoon and temperatures between 3-13C. Clouds and brief
snowfall in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 2-9C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Thursday's closing rates (buying) are as follows: U.S. dollar 321.676
British pound 535.323 Japanese Yen(100) 247.583
French franc 52.350 German mark 175.485
Italian lira (100) 17.807 Irish Punt 440.646
Belgian franc 8.507 Finnish mark 57.840
Dutch guilder 155.684 Danish kr. 46.035
Austrian sch. 24.947 Spanish peseta 2.069
Swedish kr. 40.178 Norwegian kr. 42.184
Swiss franc 215.110 Port. Escudo 1.720
AUS dollar 212.784 Can. dollar 226.573
Cyprus pound 601.648
(M.P.)
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