Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 97-11-04

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki, November 4, 1997

TITLES

[01] GREEK PM MEETS WITH TURKISH COUNTERPART, TALKS WERE “BENEFICIAL”

[02] PRESIDENT OF F.R.Y. MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH ALBANIAN PM NANO AT CRETE

[03] PREMIER: JOLTS ON DRACHMA HAVE SUBSIDED, ECONOMY ENDURES

[04] STATE DEPARTMENT PLEASED WITH SIMITIS-YILMAZ MEETING AT CRETE

[05] GREEK HOSPITAL DOCTORS CONTINUE STRIKE UNTIL FRIDAY

[06] DENKTASH MEETS WITH HOLBROOKE IN EXTRAORDINARY MEETING

[07] TURKISH PRESS: SIMITIS-YILMAZ MEETING WILL REDUCE THE TENSION

[08] US SUPPLY TURKEY WITH F-16 JETS TO FORTIFY NO-FLIGHT-ZONE IN N. IRAQ

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] GREEK PM MEETS WITH TURKISH COUNTERPART, TALKS WERE “BENEFICIAL”

Heraklion, November 4 (MPA)

The Greek Premier, who accepted Mr. Yilmaz’s invitation to visit Ankara, stated that his talks with Mr. Yilmaz were “beneficial”, albeit stressing that conclusions which could change the present-day situation between the two neighbors were not drawn.

Mr. Yilmaz, who congratulated Mr. Simitis on having taken the initiative to hold the Summit, reiterated his government’s will to resort to an international mediator in order to resolve pending differences between Greece and Turkey, but he stated that his could only be done under the condition of a dialogue.

The Greek Premier met yesterday with all of the foreign leaders, while the sideline meeting between the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the Albanian Premier Fatos Nano was deemed as highly significant, as well as that held between FYROM’s President Kiro Gligorov and Bulgaria’s Premier Ivan Kostov.

The Balkan Summit will round up this afternoon when a common statement will be issued. The Foreign delegations are reviewing the statement proposed by Greece’s Foreign Ministry and are to submit their views as well.

Meanwhile, the overall impression is that the Summit has successfully accomplished its task since this is the first time after World War II the leaders of Balkan states meet and carve a new course towards the 21st century.

The evident climate of trust resulting from the Conference is expected to boost the efforts to overcome even the most minute hurdle in regards to establishing a political secretariat.

According to political analysts, the first sign that attests to the success of the Summit is the decision to establish the Summit Conference as an institution and to grant it with a rotating leadership. As was agreed upon yesterday, the following Balkan Summit is to be held at Turkey’s Antalya in October of 1998, while four months earlier, in June, the Balkan Foreign Ministers are to meet at Istanbul. A.F.

[02] PRESIDENT OF F.R.Y. MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH ALBANIAN PM NANO AT CRETE

Heraklion, November 4 (MPA)

The discussion, which was reportedly held in a positive climate, concerned the issue of Kossovo.

The Albanian daily “Koha Jon” featured the headline “Nano- Milosevic - 90 minutes can’t melt the fifty-year-old ice”, while in the article it did assess that the meeting could pave the way for smoothing out bilateral relations. Nevertheless, the paper opines that a long time is needed to settle the issues that concern security and nationalities. A.F.

[03] PREMIER: JOLTS ON DRACHMA HAVE SUBSIDED, ECONOMY ENDURES

Athens, November 4 (MPA)

The Bank of Greece has imposed interest rates up to 157% in an effort to avert additional pressures on the drachma. In the domestic foreign exchange market there was an influx of 309 ECU, a sign that last week’s crisis has began to gradually subside. A.F.

[04] STATE DEPARTMENT PLEASED WITH SIMITIS-YILMAZ MEETING AT CRETE

New York, November 4 (MPA)

State Department spokesperson James Rubin stated that “we are very pleased over this meeting and we hope that it will lead to an improvement in Greek-Turkish relations.”

Moreover, Mr. Rubin called upon the two neighbors to display their good will and self-restrain and to avoid any action that could further worsen their relations. He also called on both the Greek and Turkey governments to meet jointly with NATO’s secretary- general Javier Solana and discuss the ways through which they can restore communication which would diffuse the tension created by the military exercises conducted by the armed forces of both countries.

In closing, Mr. Rubin congratulated the Greek government for undertaking the initiative for the Summit which, he said, “we hope will contribute to the strengthening of relations among the Balkan states and their cooperation in the sectors of security and economy.” A.F.

[05] GREEK HOSPITAL DOCTORS CONTINUE STRIKE UNTIL FRIDAY

Athens, November 4 (MPA)

Undersecretary of Health Kostas Geitonas met with the representatives of the hospital doctors union and vowed that their priority demand, the new salary scale, will soon be submitted to parliament.

However, many think that the course of the protests and strikes will be determined after tomorrow’s meeting between the doctors’ representatives and the Undersecretary of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis. A.F.

[06] DENKTASH MEETS WITH HOLBROOKE IN EXTRAORDINARY MEETING

New York, November 4 (MPA)

The meeting took place after Mr. Denktash refused to accept the United Nations Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s proposal to repeat talks for the Cyprus issue after the island’s presidential elections are held.

According to Cyprus’s press, UN diplomats characterized Mr. Denktash’s refusal as simply “crude” and made no effort to hide their indignation.

Moreover, Mr. Denktash turned down the possibility of holding a meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides prior to December 13, the day when the European Council is to discuss its “Agenda 2000” at Luxembourg.

Following the meeting , Mr. Holbrooke stated that Mr. Denktash’s stance remains unshifted. A.F.

[07] TURKISH PRESS: SIMITIS-YILMAZ MEETING WILL REDUCE THE TENSION

Ankara, November 4 (MPA)

The Ankara daily “Sabah” reported that the two Premiers held a 75-minute discussion during which they talked about the issues that strain relations between the two neighbors.

Also, the paper reported that Mr. Yilmaz characterized the meeting as “highly productive” and wrote that both leaders agreed on their foremost priority being the reduction of tension in the region.

Moreover, the daily quoted the Turkish Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ismael Chaki Karadayi, as having said that “there should be no reference to war.”

Also, the Turkish military leader stated that in no case should the military maneuvers conducted by both countries result in war, and he pointed out that he has invited his Greek counterpart Athanasios Tzioganis to visit Ankara. A.F.

[08] US SUPPLY TURKEY WITH F-16 JETS TO FORTIFY NO-FLIGHT-ZONE IN N. IRAQ

Ankara, November 4 (MPA)

According to Turkish press reports, the State Department stated that it drew the decision after having contacts with its allies and was prompted by the violations of the no-flight zone in the region.

State Department officials stated that there is no relation between the crisis with Baghdad and the decision to supply Turkey with the aircraft. 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