Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-04-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates:Thursday

[03] G. Papandreou: PASOK backs Annan peace plan for Cyprus

[04] Greece's letter of response to UN to be submitted Wednesday

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country with scattered cloud in the north and west. Winds south-southwesterly, moderate to strong. Temperatures in Athens from 12C to 24C and in Thessaloniki between 10C and 21C.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates:Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.219

Pound sterling 0.663

Danish kroner 7.505

Swedish kroner 9.234

Japanese yen 128.9

Swiss franc 1.570

Norwegian kroner 8.450

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.594

Australian dollar 1.599

[03] G. Papandreou: PASOK backs Annan peace plan for Cyprus

PASOK leader and former Greek foreign minister George Papandreou announced here on Wednesday that his main opposition party backs the Annan peace plan for Cyprus.

The two communities on the divided island republic of Cyprus -- the mostly Greek Cypriot community in the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community in the Turkish-occupied one-third of the island -- will vote in separate referenda on April 24 on whether they accept or reject the plan.

[04] Greece's letter of response to UN to be submitted Wednesday

Greece will submit a letter to the United Nations on Wednesday stating that it agrees with putting the "Founding Agreement" for Cyprus to separate referenda in the two Cypriot communities, as per UN secretary general Kofi Annan's letter of March 31 to prime minister Costas Karamanlis and in implementation of the New York agreement in February, foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos said.

The spokesman explained that Wednesday (today) was the deadline for submitting Greece's response, stressing that this action does not produce lawful consequences and does not anticipate the Greek Cypriots' response to the Annan plan.

Koumoutsakos said Greece's letter, which would be submitted by the country's permanent representative fo the UN, ambassador Vasilakis, in no way anticipated or pre-empted the outcome of the referenda.

He added that the two communities in Cyprus -- Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot -- were the sole authorities for deciding their future.

Under the New York agreement, provided both communities voted 'yes' to the Annan plan in simultaneous referenda on April 24 and following completion of the domestic process of evaluation of the plan, Greece and the other two guarantor countries of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus would sign the Treaty for the new status quo in Cyprus, which would enter into effect as of April 29.

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