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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-10-24Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, October 24, 1997TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] IN NEW PROVOCATIVE PLOY TURKEY ACCUSES GREECE OF AGGRESSIVE ACTAthens. October 24 (MPA)In an effort to divert attention from its recent provocative harassment of Greece’s C-130 which carried the Defense Minister on board, Turkey has now attempted to frame Greece as the aggressor in yesterday’s incident where a Greek minesweeper was harassed by a Turkish patrol boat south of the island of Lesvos, resulting in a slight collision.The leader of Turkey’s General Staff Ismail Chakki Karadayi alleged yesterday that a Greek small boat rammed a Turkish submarine and that when a Turkish patrol boat came to the rescue, the Greek one intervened causing a slight collision. The Greek government refutes the existence of such submarine. Today, General Karadayi issued a new statement, claiming that the Turkish submarine was conducting tactical maneuvers but its radar’s antenna was visible when the Greek minesweeper tried to pass above it. Greece’s General Navy Staff responded today that a Turkish warship harassed the Greek minesweeper which was discreetly observing the Turkish Navy’s exercise in the international territorial waters, seven nautical miles away from Lesvos. Yesterday, following the new air space violations of Greece’s FIR by Turkey’s F-16 fighter jets, the Greek Security Council held a lengthy conference at the pentagon, led by Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos. The Greek Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Konstantinos Bikas stated that the unified defense doctrine fortifies Greece’s defense capacity and contributed Turkey’s aggression to this factor. Mr. Bikas stressed that the Greek state will not shift its policy on this matter. Greece has remonstrated to Ankara over these allegations. A.F. [02] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER: TURKEY FABRICATED THE AEGEAN SEA EPISODEAthens, October 24 (MPA)Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos stated that Turkey’s allegations of a Greek minesweeper having harassed one of its submarines is a fabricated incident.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that the Greek government is to react calmly to the matter and pointed out that this is Ankara’s attempt to divert the focus from the negative attention it has received after the tension it built in the region. Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas also said that Turkey’s priority is to overturn the Aegean Sea’s legal status quo and the way it seeks to do so is through building tension. A.F. [03] GREECE’S ALTERNATE F.M. MEETS WITH US ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATEWashington, October 24 (MPA)Greece’s alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou met with the United States Assistant Secretary of State Strobe Talbot in Washington yesterday, with whom he discussed the developments on the Cyprus issue, as well as the course of Greek-Turkish relations.“We had an insightful review, not only of the recent incidents, but also of the overall situation in the region,” Mr. Papandreou stated. He added that “one could say that the Americans are in favor of beginning the EU-Cyprus accession negotiations and believe that there is room for them to undertake certain actions for resolving the Cyprus issue.” The alternate Foreign Minister also relayed to Mr. Talbot the proposals of the Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides for the participation of the Turkish-Cypriots in the delegation that will take part in the negotiations with the EU, something that Turkey is refusing. A.F. [04] MEDA FUNDS TO TURKEY WILL BE FROZEN, SAYS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTStrasbourg, October 24 (MPA)The European Parliament has decided unanimously to freeze European Union funds for Turkey, amounting to over 17 billion drachmas, which were earmarked for 1998 from the MEDA funding program.The House’s plenary session adopted the modifications tabled by Greek Euro-deputy Efthymios Christodoulou, one of which concerns the withholding of ECU 53 million since “Turkey has not displayed respect for the democratic principles of the European association for human rights as well as for international law.. The other modification provides that 10% of the MEDA program’s funds, amounting to GRD 29.2 million, will be kept in reserve until the European Commission reviews Turkey’s funding plans. A.F. [05] GREEK-TURKISH BUSINESS COOPERATION PROMOTED THROUGH FORUMThessaloniki, October 24 (MPA)The fourth Conference of the Greek-Turkish business Forum is currently being held in Athens and is expected to breath new air in the economic cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors.According to the President of the Turkish Businessmen’s Association Rahmi Koc, $15 billion can be invested by both Greeks and Turks in the following years for the developments on the Aegean region’s tourism structures. Participants at the two-day conference are addressing the up- to-date results of bilateral cooperation in the four sectors that have been set as priorities, that is: abolishment of double taxation, creation of joint ventures for undertaking large structure projects in the Balkans and the Black Sea, presentation of mutual proposals of business interest and participation in the European Union’s programs. The Forum is organized by the Businessmen’s Association of Greece in cooperation with Turkey’s Council of International Economic Relations. Thirty Turkish businessmen are to participate, led by Mr. Rahmi Koc, one of Turkey’s business conglomerates, along with over 40 Greeks. The previous three forums have resulted in 15 Greek businesses extending their activities in Turkey. The Forum is to also examine the opportunities to further strengthen ties between the two sides, part of an effort to resolve the problems that strain the two neighbors’ relations. A.F. [06] MILUTINOVIC TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN F.R.Y.Belgrade, October 24 (MPA)Milan Milutinovic, the Federal Yugoslav Republic’s Foreign Minister, announced yesterday that he will be the Socialist Party’s candidate in Serbia’s presidential elections of December 7.Mr. Milutinovic was appointed to the foreign ministry in 1995. Prior to that, he was his country’s ambassador in Greece, a seat he continues to hold. A.F. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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