MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (10/04/1996)

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Wednesday, April 10 1996

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[01] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VETOES THE NESTOS RIVER AGREEMENT WITH GREECE

Although the agreement had already been ratified by the Bulgarian Parliament in March, along with an agreement regarding the opening of three border points and highways linking the two countries, Mr. Zhelev vetoed the accord by noting that "the problem with the Nestos River waters is thirty-years-old and even the communist governments did not dare to show irresponsibility on this issue. Even in January of 1990, the Parliament had decided that Bulgaria must make use of at least 75% of Nestos' annual water quantity."

The Bulgarian President called upon the parliament to authorize the government to examine the issue in whole, within the context of the bilateral relations between Greece and Bulgaria.

Regarding the Nestos River waters agreement, it meant that Greece would be able to use 29% of the annual water quantity for a time period of 35 years.

According to diplomatic circles in Sofia, Mr. Zhelev's surprise move hid political motives and has been linked to the forthcoming presidential erlections in Bulgaria.

[02] THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER MET WITH US SECRETARY OF STATE

Before his departure from Washington, the greek Prime Minister referring to his meeting with mr.Christopher and the leadership of the US State Department stated that he discussed Greece's role in the Balkans and in Europe, the greek-turkish relations and the Cyprus problem.

Mr.Simitis stated that were confirmed all that was discussed yesterday with US President Clinton and expressed the belief that an important step has been made. He also said that the principles Greece has stated a long time ago are being accepted, namely, that there will be no use of force or threat for the use of force, that international treaties and International Law will be implemented and that if Turkey has a problem on the issue of Imia should bring the case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The greek Prime Minister characterized the climate of the meeting as "exceptionally good" and expressed the position that steps were made which will help in the progress of the further cooperation with the United States.

[03] GREEK PREMIER IN NEW YORK, TO CALL UPON AMERICAN INVESTORS

Tonight, he is scheduled to speak at a gatehring hosted by the Hellenic American Business Council and is expected to stress Greece's emergence as a dynamic economy, ready to address the development challenges in Southeastern Europe, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Simitis will meet with the Archbishop of North and South America Iakovos and later will depart for Connecticut where he will speak at Yale University. On Friday, the Premier will visit the United Nations headquarters and will meet with UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali.

Mr. Simitis will celebrate Easter in New York.

[04] GREEK PREMIER CONSIDERS SUCCESSFUL HIS MEETING WITH US PRESIDENT

"Mr. Clinton accepted the basic principle that we base our policy upon, that is that in bilateral relations and in relations regarding the Aegean Sea region there must be no use of force. The use of force or the threat of the use of force, must not be allowed," Mr. Simitis said.

Moreover, Mr. Simitis said that Mr. Clinton accepted the greek view that the solution in the greek-turkish relations cannot stem from a "global conversation" bilateral dialogue, as the Turk Premier Mesut Yilmaz has suggested, but, rather, must be approached step by step.

"First step," Mr. Simitis stated, "which we proposed and will seek, will be the address of the turkish claim for the Imia issue or the Dodekanese issue. We have stated that Turkey must resort to the International Court of Justice at The Hague."

The Greek Premier added that once this happens, Greece would not object to the development of the customs union agreement between Turkey and the European Union.

According to Mr. Simitis, the U.S. President agreed that the issue must be resolved through the International Court.

Furthermore, the Greek Premier referred to greek-american relations and stated that he mentioned the need for their further development.

Mr. Simitis stated that he and Mr. Clinton did not discuss confidence building issues or issues of defense co-operation.

"I made clear to Mr. Clinton that our proposal is to solve a problem which has been exisiting for a long time and that is the problem of the continental shelf. There must be a discussion held with Turkey, within a pre-determined time frame, in order to bring this issue to the International Court of Justice at The Hague," the Greek Premier said.

The cypriot issue was also raised during the two leaders' meeting, and President Clinton stated that he intends to undertake initiatives on the matter.

Regarding the FYROM name issue, the Greek Premier stated that Greece intends to implement the interim accord.

[05] GREEK PREMIER MET WITH U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY

The Premier asked for U.S. guarrantees of support for the greek positions and also asked for military aid, while Mr. Perry stated that this issue will be discussed during the forthcoming Joint Hellenic-American Commission meeting, scheduled to take place in Washington during May.

[06] PREMIER AND NATIONAL ECONOMY MINISTER MEET WITH US FINANCE SECRETARY

The three men discussed the potential of common greek- american investment efforts in the balkan region, as well as the creation of a electricity production plant near the greek- bulgarian borders. This, according to U.S. estimates, could potentially replace the Kozlodui nuclear plant.

Moreover, the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline was discussed, as well as the extention of the natural gas pipeline to other Balkan countries.

[07] WHITE HOUSE STATEMENTS ON SIMITIS-CLINTON MEETING

"The two leaders examined bilateral relations. They discussed briefly the dispute between Greece and Turkey regarding the Imia-Kardak islet, and the President told the Prime Minister that the United States are strongly anxious about the situation in the Aegean in general and they want to help in finding a solution.

"The President said, as he has publicly stated, that the U.S. support a referral of the issue of the sovereignty of the islet to the International Court, or to some other procedural forum. He also clarified that the U.S. believes that the differences between Greece and Turkey must be solved without violence or the threat of violence and that the two sides must apply to the relevant international agreement and must respect each other's territorial integrity.

"The Prime Minister made a presentation which the President found especially encouraging. We offered, as we have done in the past, to be useful if there is some way we can help," McCurry stated.

[08] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS ON CYPRIOT ISSUE

Speaking to the state-owned cypriot radio station RIK, Mr. Pangalos stated that the settling of the Imia islet issue through the International Court of Justice at The Hague constitutes the first step.

According to information given by the Minister, the United States Under-secretary of State John Cornbloom is expected to visit Athens, Ankara and Nicosia towards the end of this month.

[09] THE GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT MET WITH THE HEAD OF FYROM'S LIAISON OFFICE IN ATHENS

To the question if he agrees with the government's position that Belgrade's decision was not a friendly action toward Greece, the greek Parliament President responded characteristically by saying that this action was expected, referring to the pressures exerted on Rump Yugoslavia by the EU.

Mr.Arsofski also delivered to mr.Kaklamanis an invitation by his skopjan counterpart to visit the neighbouring country.

[10] THE GREEK ALTERNATE FOREIGN MINISTER MET IN ATHENS WITH THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Mr.Romeos made it clear to mr.Biancheri that the text the italian EU Presidency is going to prepare for the Association Council meeting must be a declaration of principles within the framework of the March 6th, 1995 EU-Turkey Customs Union with a special referrence to the good neighbourly clause. Therefore, the Italian Presidency text can not be a text for negotiation with that third country.

Mr.Biancheri assured the greek alternate Foreign Minister that the greek positions are fully understood by the Italian EU Presidency.

[11] THE GREEK AIRLINE OLYMPIC AIRWAYS TOOK MEASURES AGAINST WARNER BROS

In the film chechen muslim hijackers based in Greece are threatening to blow up a US bound airplane and Olympic Airways officials maintain that this airplane bears the airline's logo.

President of the Greek Civil Aviation Employees' Union mr. Vasilis Alevizopoulos characterized the movie as a blow below the belt for Greece as it shows greek airport authorities helping the hijackers to load weapons onto the plane.

According to the airline's representative Dimitris Tsalias, the company's lawyers in New York have been instructed to examine the case and to take any legal action necessary against the movie's producers, while he also added that Olympic Airways never authorized the filming of its airplanes', its grounds and its logo.

The film's script has already been altered once after arab- americans complained that it perpetuated negative stereotypes about arabs.

[12] THESSALONIKI TO GET A NEW ROYAL THEATER, ONE OF A KIND IN EUROPE

The Theater, to be housed in a vast 11,200 square meters, will feature an Italian stage and will have a holding capacity of 825 seats.

According to the President of the Commission responsible for overseeing the project, the theater is an extraordinary building for European standards, as it is second to none in Europe, while only two others of comparable standards are found in the United States.

[13] EGNATIA WAY TO GET 100 BILLION DRACHMAS FOR FURTHER PROJECTS

Mr. Pachtas expressed his optimism for the transfering of the estimation procedures responsibility to the Egnatia Inc. from the Ministry of Planning and Public Works by the end of this summer.

According to the Underminister, 30 billiun drachmas will be used during 1996, while by the end of November, new projects amounting to 100 billion drachmas will be announced.

Referring to the Board of Trustees of Egnatia Inc., Mr. Pachtas stated that the picture looks promising.

"They are putting forward serious efforts, and I believe that we should renew our support and trust."

[14] PANATHINAIKOS QUALIFIED FOR THE FINAL OF THE EUROPEAN BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS CUP IN PARIS

The star of yesterday's game was american Dominique Wilkins, who scored 35 points for the Athens team.

The greek team, which occupied the third place in the last two Final Fours will play in tomorrow's final against Barcelona.

Yesterday, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the other semi- final 76-66.

[15] THESSALONIKI'S PORT TOO EXPENSIVE FOR FYROM'S BUDGET

FYROM's press agency M.I.C. reported that the lower prices offered by the Bulgarians and the Yugoslavs is the compensating factor for the greater distances of the Burgas and Bar ports in relation to the Thessaloniki port from Skopje.

However, the vice-president of the Skopje Chamber of Commerce Dose Kotevski stated that Thessaloniki offers many opportunities, especially in container transport, for which FYROM's railroads have the appropriate outfittings.

According to Mr. Kotevski, a working group has been organized to look into the matter further.

[16] ALBANIA GETS ITS FIRST FOREIGN BANK SUBSIDIARY, NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE

According to Finance Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, four more greek banks have applied for operation licenses in Albania, and Tirana has agreed to examine the applications. The banks are state Ionian Bank, Commercial Bank of Greece, the Bank of Piraeus and the private Alpha Credit Bank.

[17] THE 2ND GREEK-RUSSIAN SYMPOSIUM ON FURS, TRADE RELATIONS AND TOURISM WILL BE HELD IN KASTORIA ON MAY 10-11

Furiers Association President Panagiotis Pavlou stated to MPA that the exhibition's target this year is to improve last year's positive results with an emphasis on tourism.

The Fur Exhibition will be open May 5-12 and its formal opening will be held on May 7th.

[18] GREEK COURT SENTENCED A ROMANIAN SLAVE-TRADER TO 44 YEARS IN PRISON

The illegal immigrants received a 3-month prison sentence and the court ordered their deportation.

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

[19] SECURITY COUNCIL'S HELP IN CYPRUS ISSUE IS PRODUCTIVE

When asked to commend on the American Ambassador Richard Bowcher's statements that no joint initiative will be drawn, Mr. Kasoulides stated that he is not surprised by the U.S. stance.

He also noted that the cypriot government's positions towards the american initiative is a given and emphasized that Ankara will be convinced by those who have influence upon Turkey, in order to shift its position.

When asked if the cypriot government has discussed with Mr. Bowcher the possibility that the European Union might get involved in the solution-seeking process, Mr. Kasoulides stated that the U.S. welcome the E.U.'s aid since they consider its involvement in the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem to be useful.

[20] CYPRUS OPTIMISTIC OVER RESULTS FROM SIMITIS-CLINTON MEETING

According to the Minister, the fact that the cypriot issue was one of the items brought up in the two leaders' discussion has resulted in a climate of optimism in the cypriot govermment.

Commendning on the Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos' comment that the procedures to solve the cypriot issue will take place concurrently with other Aegean Sea issues concerning Greece, the cypriot government spokesperson Yiannis Kasoulides stated that "the cypriot issue may be the most important national issue for Greece, however it is a separate issue from the others which exist between Greece and Turkey and, as such, efforts to solve it must take place entirely separatley from the efforts to solve greek-turkish differences, and as such will be taking place concurrently."

[21] UNITED NATIONS WILL NOT ACCEPT MAPS PRODUCED BY THE PSEUDO- STATE

In his statements made to the Cyprus radio, Mr. Feischel stated that the UN are guided by the decisions drawn by the Security Council, which, he stated, are very clear in regards to such issues. He also assessed that the turkish action will not affect the initiatives taken on the Cypriot issue.

[22] THE EURO-PARLIAMENT WILL EXAMINE ON APRIL 15-19 THE RESULTS OF THE EU SUMMIT HELD IN TURIN

The Euro-Deputies are also expected to discuss the recent agreement of the EU Agriculture Ministers on the issue of the "mad cow" disease in Britain. In their agenda are included the prospects of a European Union intervention to the issue of Chernobil, while they will also discuss the implementation of the 1994 budget.

Discussions will be made and on the EU proposals regarding the preparation of the Central and Eastern European countries for their accession into the European Union.

[23] ANKARA RECALLS FOUR IRANIAN DIPLOMATS FROM TEHRAN

Turkish Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Omer Akbel emphasized that there are charges against the Iranian diplomats and added that, although the investigation has not yet been completed, the first discoveries show that the Iranian officials cannot continue to be stationed in Turkey and must be recalled.

It should be noted that the four diplomats have been charged with involvement in terrorist acts that took place in Turkey by fanatic islamists.

Meanwhile, a Turkish delegation headed by Turkish assistant Under-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Tuighan, is currently in Tehran conducting iranian-turkish talks.

Mr. Akbel stated that Mr. Tuighan's visit to Tehran was planned within the framework of regular bilateral political meetings. However, the turkish-iranian meeting scheduled for April 9-11 in Ankara, and planned to focus on ambassadorial issues, has been cancelled due to the need for further preparations.

[24] US CONGRESS DELEGATION IS VISITING FYROM

The American delegation was received by the President of FYROM's Parliament Tito Petkovski with whom they discussed the development of the parliamentary system in his country.

Mr. Petkovski informed the American congressmen on FYROM's relations with its neighboring countries and expressed his government's gratitude for the U.S. support given to FYROM's development.

He also emphasized that with the establishment of the U.S. embassy in Skopje, the U.S. have fully recognized FYROM's entity.

[25] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WILL VISIT TURKEY THIS MONTH

In Ankara, Mr. Pirinski will be received by the Turk President Suleiman Demirel as well as by Turk Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz.

According to reports, Mr. Pirinski's talks with the Turk leaders will aim at the improvement of bilateral relations between the two countries and will discuss issues such as the development of plans for economic co-operation in the Black Sea, the status of the Turkish minority currently living in Bulgaria and the opening of an East-West communication channel that will link the Adriatic Sea with Asia.

[26] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE REPORT

CURRENCY          FIXING      BUY         SELL
ECU              302.2580   301.3510    303.1650
U.S. Dollar      240.3400   239.6190    241.0610
Deutsche Mark    162.3900   161.9030    162.8770
UK Sterling      368.0100   366.9060    369.1140
French Franc      47.7020    47.5590     47.8450
Swedish Crown     36.2620    36.1530     36.3710
Danish Kroner     42.0810    41.9550     42.2070
Norwegian Crown   37.4400    37.3280     37.5520
Italian Lira      15.4065    15.3600     15.4530
Swiss Franc      201.3400   200.7000    201.9080
Spanish Peseta     1.9440     1.9382      1.9498
Finnish Mark      52.0300    51.8740     52.1860
Yen              223.8050   223.1340    224.4760

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