Antenna: News in English (AM), 97-09-18

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From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

News in English 18/09/97

TITLES

• US efforts to bring Greece and Turkey closer together, and find a way out of the Cyprus problem.
• Edward Shevardnadze looks toward ever-closer cooperation between Georgia and Greece.
• And, in soccer, all the highlights as Paok and OFI start their Uefa cup campaigns.

CYPRUS

As yet, Greece has received no formal American offer to mediate between it and Turkey. But Athens says the issue may come up at the UN general assembly meeting in a few weeks' time.

What is definite, is that the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers will meet in New York next week, and the Cypriot president and the Turkish- Cypriot leader have agreed to meet soon.

The Greek government is positive about US secretary of state Madeleine Albright's announcement earlier this week that Cypriot president Glavcos Clirides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Raouf Denktash have agreed to meet soon, to discuss security issues on the island.

But Greece is also guarded in its optimism. Denktash has already said he won't discuss the demilitarisation of the island until the Cyprus problem is resolved. But for Greece, the problem in Cyprus is the illegal presence of the Turkish military.

Athens would like to see the island demilitarised; that would mean the 30 thousand Turkish troops there leaving.

To justify its military presence, Turkey has objected to Cyprus's plans to deploy Russian anti- aircraft missiles, perhaps as early as next year. The missiles would protect tiny Cyprus from a possible attack by Turkey.

Turkey calls the defensive missiles a threat, and that it will use quote any means necessary unquote to prevent them being deployed.

The Cypriot foreign minister responds that it's amusing to think that Cyprus could ever pose a threat to Turkey.

The US is not just looking at ways of getting the two sides in Cyprus talking. US Cyprus envoy Richard Holbrooke told CNN this week that both he and secretary of state Madeleine Albright will be meeting with the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers in New York sometime during the next two weeks.

There is also talk of Albright joining the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers at their meeting next week.

Greek Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas told reporters Wednesday that the US has made no formal offer to have Albright at that meeting.

US state department spokesman James Foley says that Albright had a very constructive meeting with Pangalos and Gem at the recent Nato summit. There, Greece and Turkey signed a non-aggression pact. Foley says that if the two sides are willing to return to the spirit of that pact, then a meeting of the foreign ijnisters with Albright would also be constructive.

This week's moves by the US to try to set up meetings over Cyprus and Greek- Turkish relations have observers in Greece thinking that a more coherent American initiative may in the works.

LIANI BOOK

An Athens daily claims that Dimitra Liani Papandreou's book, to hit the shelves in three weeks, contains a document in which current Greek premier Kostas Simitis promised US president Bill Clinton, that Greece will tow the American line on all critical foreign policy matters.

A promotion for Dimitra Liani Papandreou's book on the internet calls it not a biography of the late Greek leader, but a "feverish statement of a simple woman who had the chance to become the object of a powerful man".

But the book is already causing the thermometer to rise elsewhere, in the press, and in Pasok, where controversial talk is already stirring.

A report in the daily paper Athinaiki has it that the book contains a number of document from Andreas Papandreou's confidential archives.

The main apple of discord is a document, a so-called "non-paper", that first came to light after prime minister Kostas Simitis's White House meeting with Bill Clinton on April 9th, 1996.

The non-paper claims that Simitis agreed during his meeting with Clinton to follow the US line on major foreign policy issues.

The Greek ambassador in Washington, receiving the document by fax, was surprised, and, on April 28th, sent it toAndreas Papandreou, gravely ill in Athens. It was that illness which had forced him to give up the post of prime minister.

The next day, the White House issued a statement calling the fax contents false. Nothing like what it claimed was discussed at the Simitis- Clinton meeting. It would surface again in September 1996, in the run-up to Greece's parliamentary elections.

Commenting on the publication of excerpts from Dimitra Liani Papandreou's book in the daily "Athinaiki" Wednesday, and the claim that it contains the non-paper, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas was dismissive.

"That's what Mrs Liani Papandreou claims", he said. "We've already devoted too much time to that forged document; we've spoken our mind on it several times".

Reppas added that in the past there have been efforts by many to wound Simitis politically, and there will probably be attempts in the future. It's not worth dealing with. Much of it directed at Simitis and others in Pasok who opposed Papandreou at the end of his political career.

The book allegedly reports Andreas Papandreou as privately expressing bitterness over the ingratitude of Simitis and others in the party, for turning their back on him at the end.

Current foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos, a critic of Papandreou at the end of his career, also comes in for criticism. Liani Papandreou allegedly writes that Andreas Papandreou felt Pangalos was the best person to replace him at the Pasok helm.

When Papandreou chose Pangalos to run for mayor of Athens in the last local elections, he did it with a view to preparing his resume for the top slot. Liani Papandreou says her husband was bitter when Pangalos later accused him of accepting bribes.

Liani Papandreou has not denied the leaks of her book in the press. All she's saying is that she's reserving any comment until the book is out.

SIMITIS

After their meeting, Papadimos told reporters, "We talked about our target of getting inflation down to 3 per cent by the end of next year".

Since taking power in 1993, Pasok has brought inflation down to single digits. It is currently at 5.6 per cent, but everyone admits that further drops will be difficult to achieve.

Low inflation is a must if Greece is to meet the targets for European monetary union at the end of the century.

LALIOTIS

The prime minister is banking on EU-funded infrastructure projects doing much to help the economy.

One of those projects is a new superhighway running from southern to northern Greece. The public works minister announced that the new road will be ready by the year 2000.

Kostas Laliotis said the 730-kilometre long highway, which will be funded by the EU and the Greek government, will cost 2.1 billion US dollars.

The road will link the southwestern port of Patra to Athens, Thessaloniki, and the northeastern fringe of the country.

Running through 14 major cities and 9 ports, it will be a major contribution to economic development across the country.

SHEVARDNADZE

The Georgian president spoke to reporters as he embarked on a journey to one of Greece's most hallowed places, Mount Athos.

After receiving the Onasis Award in Athens for his contribution to fostering East-West understanding in the late 80s, Georgian president Edward Shevardnadze returned to a theme that he has turned to repeatedly during his visit to Greece: the long history of good relations between his country and Greece.

Before leaving for Mount Athos Wednesday, he talked to Greek officials about the possibilities that exist for improving economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The history of Greek-Georgian relations goes back to ancient times, he told reporters afterwards. "In Athens, I've had particularly fruitful meetings with Greek leaders. I believe we've formed a really good basis on which to improve our historically-good ties".

It is the people of the two nations who give those ties life. There is a Greek minority of 80 thousand in Georgia. During their meeting,

Shevardnadze and Macedonia-Thrace minister Philippos Petsalniko talked about the Georgian Greeks now living in Thessaloniki - a living link between the two countries. "They're an excellent people", said the Georgian president. "I send them my warmest greetings and my affection".

After his meetings with government and local officials in Thessaloniki, Shevardnadze visited the Mount Athos in Chalkidiki, northern Greece.

After his visit to Mount Athos, Shevardnadze returned to Thessaloniki, where mayor Konstantinos Kosmopoulos escorted through the "Treasures of Mount Athos" exhibition currently running in Greece's second city.

NEW DEMOCRACY

MP Dora Bakoyianni, in charge of development matters, will be briefed by development minister Vasso Papandreou Thursday.

Karamanlis's shadow cabinet includes seven high- profile party members.

He asked them all to work together to make a success of their efforts in opposition to the government.

SOCCER

And in Crete, Greece's other Uefa cup contender, OFI, also began ITS first- round home-and-away match-up against Hungary's Ferencveros before a home crowd.

And OFI gets on the scoreboard in the 21st minute of the match, with a penalty shot by Nikos Papadopoulos. The home side takes that lead into the second half.

In the 55th minute 19-year-old Nikos Kounenakis makes it 2-nil.

And there's more to come, as Nikos Nioplas adds another goal in the 84th minute. Final score: Ofi 3, Ferencveros nothing. And the Cretan team sitting pretty as it gets ready for the return leg of that match-up.

ECLIPSE

One of the exceptions was the resort town of Navplion in the Peloponese, where moon-gazers were lucky to get a good glimpse of the phenomenon arising from the earth passing between the moon and the sun.

© ANT1 Radio 1997

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