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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-10-15Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, October 15, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK P.M. KOSTAS SIMITIS IS CURRENTLY IN TIRANATirana, October 15 (MPA)Greek Premier Kostas Simitis is currently in Tirana, Albania, where he has been received by Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and will meet with President Reijep Meidani and leaders of the opposition parties.Following his 90-minute meeting with Mr. Nano, the Greek Premier stated that �we are now building a relation of cooperation, friendship and mutual development with Albania.� Mr. Simitis and the Albanian Premier discussed issues concerning economic aid to the neighboring country as well as Greece and Albania�s common efforts to combat crime. In his meeting with his Albanian counterpart, Mr. Simitis discussed the issue of illegal immigration. �We agreed that conditions can be established so that those people who left Albania and are working in Greece can some day return to their country which will move ahead and will prosper through mutual understanding,� Mr. Simitis stated. Having thanked his Albanian counterpart for his hospitality, Mr. Simitis stressed that his visit to Albania marks the two countries� determination to move ahead towards a smooth course of relations. Moreover, the two premiers discussed the Balkan leaders meeting which is to take place at the island of Crete in the beginning of November. Mr. Simitis is to also meet with the Archbishop of Tirana, Anastasios. The Prime Minister is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, the Minister of Public Order George Romeos, the Minister of Press and Mass Media Dimitris Reppas as well as the deputy ministers of national economy and defense, Alexandros Baltas and Dimitris Apostolakis respectively, and the governor of Greece�s National Bank Theodoros Karatzas. Mr. Romeos met this morning with his Albanian counterpart Neritan Ceka, while the Premier inaugurated the Greek National Bank�s branch in Tirana and is to visit Tirana�s hospital which was constructed through the aid of funding provided by the Greek government. Following Mr. Simitis�s visit to Tirana, the two sides will proceed to issue a common statement and will sign an economic cooperation protocol which will refer to the amount of GRD20 million which Greece has vowed to grant to Albania within the framework of economic aid for the stabilization of Albania�s economic and political sectors. According to the Albanian press reports, which have granted extensive coverage to the Greek leader�s imminent visit, the primary target of Mr. Simitis� visit is to promote bilateral cooperation. A.F. [02] GREECE�S DEFENSE MINISTER: CYPRIOT ISSUE CONCERNS ALL OF EUROPENicosia, October 15 (MPA)Greece�s Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, currently in Cyprus, stated last evening that the Cyprus issue is one that concerns all of Europe, and is not limited to a Greek-Turkish dispute.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos was received today by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides. Yesterday, the Defense Minister was in Paphos and he announced that the region�s military airport is to operate by the beginning of 1998, as planned. A.F. [03] CONFERENCE OF S.E. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEADERS BEGINS TOMORROWAthens, October 15 (MPA)A two-day Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries began in Athens today, following an initiative taken by the President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis.The parliamentary delegations are to focus their attention to the role of the parliament in developing ties among the region�s peoples, as well as the need to establish a more substantial communication among them. The countries to be represented at the Conference are Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, FYROM, Romania, Turkey, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as observers from parliamentary assemblies from various international organizations such as the Western European Union. Mr. Kaklamanis opened the session, while the Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Simitis is to present a salutation on Thursday, to be followed by a speech given by Greece�s Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos. A.F. [04] LEADER OF PARLIAMENT MEETS WITH FYROM, YUGOSLAVIA COUNTERPARTSAthens, October 15 (MPA)The president of the Hellenic parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis is to meet with his counterpart from Yugoslavia Milomir Minik this afternoon and the President of FYROM�s Parliament Tito Petkovski this evening.These meetings will be held on the sidelines of the Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries, which began in Athens today. A.F. [05] GREECE�S ALTERNATE F.M. MEETS WITH BULGARIAN PRESIDENT IN SOFIASofia, October 15 (MPA)Greece�s alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, currently in Sofia, met with the Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov. Mgrs. Stoyanov and Papandreou discussed the imminent meeting to be held among the Presidents of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, a Bulgarian initiative which Mr. Papandreou characterized as �positive� since it will contribute to the development of cooperation among the three countries, on matters of combating organized crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The Greek official also met with Bulgaria�s Foreign Minister Najezda Mihailova and the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Antoinetta Primatarova, with whom he discussed issues concerning Bulgaria�s European orientation.Mr. Papandreou stated that �relations between the European Union and Bulgaria, and more specifically Bulgaria�s accession course to the EU, were the main topic of our talks.� The Greek alternate Foreign Minister stressed Greece�s support for Bulgaria�s accession course, and confirmed the Greek position that favors a �common starting point� for the EU accession negotiations for central and eastern Europe�s 11 countries. Following his stay at the Bulgarian capital, Mr. Papandreou is to conduct a tour through the Baltic states. A.F. [06] EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS OPTIMISTIC OF GREECE�S ECONOMY COURSEAthens, October 15 (MPA)The European Commission has released a positive assessment of the course of Greece�s economy and the country�s potential participation in the Economic and Monetary Union.In its most recent report, the EC points out that Greece has presented the most significant improvement in comparison to the remaining EU member-states in regards to deficit reduction. Concurrently, the report stated that the public deficit is to amount to 4.2% of 1997 GNP, but is expected to fall to the 3% mark in 1998, which is the basic criterion for the participation of an EU member-state to the EMU. A.F. [07] U.S. MAINTAINS POLICY OF �EQUAL DISTANCES� FOR GREECE, TURKEYWashington, October 15 (MPA)The United States are maintaining an �equal distance� policy when it comes to relations with Greece and Turkey, according to statements of the State Department�s spokesperson James Rubin, who stated today that �the United States have repeatedly encouraged all sides of the Cypriot issue to avoid steps that complicate the efforts to promote dialogue and negotiation.�Referring to the flight moratorium above the island, Mr. Rubin stated that the US are in favor of such moratorium and asked both Greece and Turkey to �decide and agree upon a complete, without an expiration date, agreement for moratorium of flights above Cyprus. A.F. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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