Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-11-03

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] ADEX-close

[02] PM-Turkish deputy PM

[03] Greece - Turkey - Papandreou - Yilmaz

[01] ADEX-close

Derivatives' prices ended lower on Friday in very thin trading conditions on the Athens Derivatives Exchange, following a fall in the two benchmark indices, FTSE/ASE 20 and FTSE/ASE 40.

A total of 3,149 contracts were traded, worth 8.387 billion drachmas. In the FTSE/ASE 20 index, 994 contracts were traded, worth 4.450 billion drachmas, with the November contract ending at 2,229.14 points and the December contract at 2,241.83 points.

A total of 2,155 contracts were traded in the FTSE/ASE 40 index, worth 3.936 billion drachmas. The November futures contract ended at 449.15 points, the December at 452.89 and the January contract at 461.50 points.

[02] PM-Turkish deputy PM

Prime minister Costas Simitis on Friday had a half-hour meeting with visiting Turkish deputy premier Mesut Yilmaz, but no statements were made after the talks.

Yilmaz, the leader of Turkey's Motherland Party and a former foreign minister and premier, arrived in Athens on Thursday on a two-day unofficial visit for talks with senior government officials and to address a Greek-Turkish business forum.

Yilmaz, the highest-ranking Turkish official to visit Greece in 12 years, was also due to be received by President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos later on Friday.

The Turkish deputy premier met with Greek foreign minister George Papandreou and main opposition New Democracy party honorary president Constantine Mitsotakis on Tuesday before addressing the forum.

[03] Greece - Turkey - Papandreou - Yilmaz

The prospects of Greek-Turkish cooperation were at the focus of Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreous address on Thursday during a dinner in honour of Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who arrived in Athens for a series of top-level meetings with Greeces leadership and to attend a Greek-Turkish business forum.

Papandreou defended the Greek policy exercised toward Turkey over the past two years, stressing that this has been a historic opportunity, which the peoples of the two countries demand of their governments to take advantage of.

He said, however, that the most basic precondition for the full rapprochement between Greece and Turkey is the solution of the Cyprus problem, a solution based on the United Nations Security Council resolutions on the issue.

?Cyprus will either divide us or unite us,? Papandreou said, adding that the accession of the island republic to the European Union is a precondition for the security of both the Greek and the Turkish communities.

The Greek foreign minister also said that the dialogue that began on the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) aims at creating a strong basis, on which to examine the problems between the two countries under a more constructive light.

?We follow your model,? he said speaking to businessmen, ?we are looking for the common interest?.

He added that the interests of Greece and Turkey are complementary, and called the Greek governments policy an investment on the security of the region.

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