Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-02-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] Nicosia voices intense displeasure over arrival on Thursday of U.S. delegation to Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus

[02] ND's Stavrou to meet First Vice-President of Russian Duma

[03] Man in possession of more than 4,000 antiquities arrested

[01] Nicosia voices intense displeasure over arrival on Thursday of U.S. delegation to Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus

The visit was announced at a press conference in the occupied north by U.S. Ambassador to Nicosia Michael Klosson and was confirmed by U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. As stated by Klosson, the visit is included in the framework of the activities of an organisation which the U.S. set up especially for Cyprus, the Cyprus Program for Economic Growth-CyPEG.

The Cyprus government denounced the action of the Americans and lodged a demarche to the United States.

As wriiten in the newspaper "Fileleftheros" on Saturday, the foreign ministry lodged demarches in Nicosia and Washington, while the U.S. Ambassador was summoned late Friday to the Presidential Palace. According to the newspaper, President Tassos Papadopoulos expressed his displeasure to Klosson not only over the specific move, but also about "other matters which have recently arisen from American actions in relation with the Cyprus issue and the Turkish-occupied area."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday stated that "the U.S. does not wish to see the Turkish Cypriots isolated" and termed as a bad result the fact that Cyprus was not reunited before Cyprus' accession to the European Union.

Rice's statements were made to European mass media, in which she also said that apart from economic aid "we are examining what more we can do."

On his part, Boucher confirmed on Friday that an American business delegation will visit the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, accompanied by the U.S. Commercial Attache of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

Boucher noted that this delegation is consistent with our goal of easing the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots by expanding business contacts on an off the island."

Cyprus Commerce Minister George Lillikas described the move by the Americans as "an organised attempt by Washington aimed at sending political messages for the upgrading of the pseudo-state."

[02] ND's Stavrou to meet First Vice-President of Russian Duma

The meeting will be held at Stavrou's office at noon.

Konstantinovna, who will be heading a parliamentary delegation, has studied law and has been honoured by the Russian Federation with many medals and other distinctions.

[03] Man in possession of more than 4,000 antiquities arrested

In a search which was made in a storeroom of his home in Nea Apollonia, Thessaloniki, northern Greece, police found 3,200 coins of the prehistoric era, of the Roman, Classical Hellenistic and Byzatine years, 300 fossils and parts of fossils, 18 pieces of jewellery, parts of urns, a religious book of 1783 and other objects.

The man, who will appear before the court on charges of antiquity smuggling, claimed to the authorities that he had found them during various times in fields of the region.

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