Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Int'l community determined to advance Mideast peace, Greek UNSC presidency says

[02] President Papoulias visits Bonn

[01] Int'l community determined to advance Mideast peace, Greek UNSC presidency says

"The international community is determined to work very hard to advance the Middle East Peace Process," Bakoyannis said after the discussion at the Security Council, held at foreign ministers' level for the first time in more than two decades, which included the Palestinian issue and was also attended by foreign ministers and representatives of the countries of the region.

UN secretary general Kofi Annan made the opening address at the extraordinary debate, while Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas also briefly addressed the Council at the end of the discussion.

The speakers lauded Greece for its "important initiative", while US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice told reporters after the meeting that she was planning a visit to the Middle East in the near future.

"On behalf of the Greek Presidency (of the Security Council), I wish to express our satisfaction. It was a very creative and very good meeting. The first at this (foreign ministers') level to deal with the problems of the Middle East and the Palestinian issue," Bakoyannis said, noting: "There is a common element and a common perception that arose from this meeting. Namely, that the international community is determined to work very hard to advance the Middle East Peace Process."

"The Middle East cannot wait. The Palestinian crisis cannot wait. We must act, and we must act quickly. I think this (the discussion) was an important step forward," Bakoyannis stressed.

Asked by reporters whether the result would have been better for peace if the Security Council had adopted a Presidency statement, Bakoyannis, the Council President for the month of September, replied "I am not certain because what we see today, as you, also, have ascertained, is the expression of satisfaction with this meeting by all the leaders who attended. Everyone is satisfied, proving that when there is political will, there is always a ray of hope".

To a second question on why a Presidency statement was not issued, Bakoyannis explained that a Presidency statement "is not a simple affair", expressing conviction that "it was much better for the statements of all the sides, and what each side believes, to be heard", adding also her belief that the demonstration of support, from all the sides, for President Mahmoud Abbas was also "very important".

To a question on the Middle East peace process, Bakoyannis noted that "Greece, as you know, is a country situated very close to the Middle East, and is a member of the European Union...We will continue to work in the same direction as during the Security Council presidency, for a comprehensive, just and viable solution for peace in the Middle East".

To a comment that she appeared satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, Bakoyannis said that "what I know and can tell you is that, at the end, everyone was satisfied, and that's what counts".

Addressing the debate earlier, Bakoyannis said that "we all have the ability to do something, regardless of power and size, and we all have the common responsibility of helping the peoples of the Middle East to materialise their vision of living in dignity and peace and looking with hope to the future".

"As a citizen of Athens, and guided by the spirit of my forebears, I cannot but maintain my deep faith in the prevalence of reason. The prevalence of reason, tolerance and acceptance, and also of symbiosis -- to use a Greek word -- over violence," she said, and appealed to all sides "for reason and understanding to prevail so as to give the seeds of peace sown by the international community the chance to bloom in the fertile and historic land of the Middle East, to be benefit of all the peoples of the region, but also of the entire world".

[02] President Papoulias visits Bonn

Papoulias, who commenced his state visit on Monday, has also visited Berlin, Dusseldorf, Pottsdam and Cologne, and has met with representatives of the Greek community in Germany.

Later in the day, he visited the main installations of the radio station Deutsche Welle, for the first time in more than 30 years and was given a tour by the general director as well as by the head of the Greek department, Spyros Moskovos. In a statement to the Greek programme, he said:"It is an exceptional moment of my life, after so many years again in Deutsche Welle. A challenge in the historic memories and the struggle for democracy and the fall of the barbaric dictatorship (in Greece from 1967-1974)."

He later visited the city's Town Hall and met with the mayor and attended a Te Deum officiated by Metropolitan Avgoustinos. He also met with Greeks living in the region.

The visit ends on Friday, with meetings by President Papoulias and Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis with representatives of the German-Greek Economic Association (DHW) and with a visit to the University of Cologne, from where Papoulias graduated.

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