Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-08-20

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Thursday, August 20, 1998

Conflicting views on missiles

THE MISSILES continued to dominate most front pages yesterday but there were conflicting interpretations.

Phileleftheros insisted that, while the governments of Greece and Cyprus did not rule out the possibility of postponing the deployment of the missiles, this was conditional on securing something substantial in exchange.

There had to be progress in peace talks or in demilitarisation efforts. It was no coincidence that both governments expressed this view, especially at a time when Turkey allowed no hope of any progress being achieved. Ankara refuses to discuss any concession in exchange for the postponement of the deployment.

Simerini takes a completely different view of things. It claimed there was "an orchestrated campaign", to prepare the ground for a "unilateral" postponement of the missile deployment - without securing anything in exchange from Turkey.

Persistent reports in the Athens press - which the paper credits to government sources - suggest that the Greek side would unilaterally accept the US proposal for a nine-month postponement of the missile deployment. The Cyprus government spokesman declined to make any comment on these reports, the paper said.

Machi reported that lawyers, acting on behalf of the Bishop of Limassol Chrysanthos, had filed a libel suit against Simerini, demanding £1 million in damages for defemation. The lawyers also applied for a court order preventing the paper from carrying further reports defaming their client.

Haravghi said that the "tough guy" members of the underworld had struck again in Limassol, planting a bomb at a centrally-located pub. The pub- owner was seriously injured from the blast.

The latest bomb attack was part of a new war between underworld gangs which led to the murder of Andros Aeroporos a couple of weeks ago and the attempted murder of Loucas Fanieros a few days later. The paper criticised the government for its inability to clamp down on crime.

Alithia said that Russia's devaluation of the rouble would affect the world economy as well as Cyprus'. However a Central Bank official said he did not expect the devaluation to greatly affect the operation of Cyprus- based Russian offshore companies.

Those which dealt with imports to Russia would be forced to pay higher prices, while those who dealt with exports would be able to charge lower prices. As regards tourists, the devaluation would make Cyprus an even more expensive destination.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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