From: "Theodoros Sp. Zarros" Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Mon, 24 Jan 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): Greece and Cyprus have a detailed plan to incorporate the island republic into Greece's defense planning which should be ready by the end of February. "The practical steps will be completed by the end of February, when the issue will be ripe for political decisions", National Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis said Saturday. He was speaking in Thessaloniki after talks with visiting Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, on a recent decision to include the island-republic in Greece's line of defense. The agreement was reached in Athens in November, during a meeting between the Cyprus President and Premier Andreas Papandreou. Mr. Clerides said Greek and Cyprus military experts would meet next month to draft a blue-print for common defense. The plan will then be submitted to the two governments for ratification. "The idea behind a common defense programme is to create a deterrent force, so that a political solution might be found to pending issues through dialogue and diplomatic negotiations", Mr. Arsenis said. "Greece and Cyprus are peace-loving countries and do not threaten any other state. On the contrary, they are being threatened, and that is why they seek to safeguard themselves by promoting their sovereign rights through international accords and diplomatic negotiations", he added. Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops invaded and occupied the north of the island-republic in 1974, after a short-lived coup in Nicosia engineered by the junta then ruling Greece. Some 30,000 to 40,000 Turkish troops still remain on the island, which is divided by barbed wire and patrolled by 2,000 United Nations peace-keepers. Turkish Cypriots declared a separate state in 1983, but only Ankara recognized it. UN-led peace talks on the Cyprus dispute are at a standstill, awaiting Turkish Cypriot response to the UN Secretary General's package of measures aimed at restoring trust between the two communities. Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): Visiting Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, had a thirty-minute meeting with leader of New Democracy party Miltiades Evert in Thessaloniki, yesterday. President Clerides said afterwards there had been "a quick exchange of views on the Cyprus problem. We talked about the defense issue, a national conference, and developments in the Cyprus problem. It was in fact a most constructive meeting", Mr. Clerides said. Mr. Evert told the press "the less is said on national issues the better, particularly on the Cyprus problem, since our problem has always been that we say much, but do only a little in actual practice". The Cyprus President, who is in Thessaloniki since last Thursday, to attend events marking the "Second Week of Cyprus" in Greece, boarded a helicopter to visit Caryes, capital of Mount Athos and the monasteries of Vatopedion and Dionysios. Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): A special five-hour debate will be held on national issues with special emphasis on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greek-Turkish relations in Parliament today. The FYROM issue has created tension which heightened when a large number of European Union countries established diplomatic relations with the neighboring state. Interest now focuses on the UN, which serves as a springboard for possible consultations to resume dialogue aimed at settling problems between Greece and FYROM. The government has stated it will not take part in dialogue, unless FYROM provides prior tangible proof of concessions, namely removing the flag with the Vergina sun and the preamble of the Constitution, and putting an end to hostile propaganda. Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert called on Saturday for an end to statements by parliamentarians airing personal views on Greece's dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. "I call on all (political) sides to stop making statements and remarks on the Skopje issue", Mr. Evert said. "There should be no battle of words every night on personal opinions of deputies. This does not reflect a serious image of Greece's ability to handle the Skopje issue", he told members of his party in Thessaloniki. Mr. Evert added he would raise the issue in Parliament today. Athens has strongly campaigned against international recognition of the new state, on the grounds it is using the name of "Macedonia" and ancient Greek symbols to mask territorial designs on Greece's northern province of Macedonia. Skopje, 24/1/1994 (ANA - M. Vichou): In an interview with the weekly newspaper "Pouls", US Liaison Office representative in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Bob Norman said "the US encourages Greece to allow 'Macedonia's' continuous outlet to Thessaloniki, as an important port for its commerce". Mr. Norman reiterated "the US is waiting for the problem to be resolved with Greece, before proceeding with diplomatic recognition", adding that "Macedonia" is the key "to stability in the region". Meanwhile, in a brief statement on FYROM state TV Saturday, Mr. Norman said that at a recent meeting with representatives of the Albanian "Democratic Welfare" party, he urged them to "function within the state's institutions". Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): Agriculture Minister George Moraitis will outline the Greek European Union presidency's prime targets in agriculture at the opening meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers which he chairs in Brussels today. Agriculture Under-secretary Floros Constantinou will represent Greece. Targets include this year's price package together with corresponding measures for the 1994-1995 period, revision of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for such commodities as wine, fruit, vegetables, rice and olive oil and problems related to the Delors 2 programme. Moreover, settlements will be sought aimed at promoting dairy products and improving their quality. Greece will also make efforts to include honey in market organization, since the honey market is presently governed by free market rules. Monetary measures and the state in the EU's mutton market are other issues marked for consideration while the banana market may also be examined at Germany's request. Lastly, certain Administrative Committee settlements on meat distribution may also be tabled for discussion. Some aspects of the issue have already been agreed on in two Special Agriculture Committee meeting held this month. Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): The need for more systematic research on matters concerning safeguard and rational use of the river Evros waters, and the co-operation of scientists from neighboring countries for the cleaning of the river's pollution, was the conclusion reached at a two-day international seminar, held in Alexandroupolis. The "River Evros-Meeting Point of Three peoples" seminar, has been organized by the Technical Chamber of Greece's Thrace branch, with participation of scientists from Greece and Turkey. Although invited to the seminar, Bulgarian scientists did not attend, owing to procedural problems. Athens, 24/1/1994 (ANA): Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides called for national unity and a response to Skopje's usurpation of symbols of the ancient Macedonia dynasty of Philip and Alexander the Great, while on a tour of Vergina, capital of ancient Macedonia, Saturday. The mayor of Vergina presented the presented the Cypriot President with the Gold Key of the city and proclaimed him honorary citizen of Vergina. He then returned to Thessaloniki for a meeting with National Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis. Later, President Clerides was awarded the Gold Key of Thessaloniki by Mayor Constantine Kosmopoulos.