Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-01-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] SIMITIS MEETS WITH DIMITRIOS AND ANNAN

[02] MAGRIOTIS: WE WILL NOT MOVE THE AEGEAN BORDERS AN INCH

[03] FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IS A GREEK PRIORITY

[04] CHRISTODOULAKIS: THE OA ISSUE WILL BE SETTLED BY JANUARY 31

[05] HITIRIS: MR. KARAMANLIS' STANCE ON MR. SIMITIS' VISIT TO THE US IS

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[07] MEASURES TO BACK THE FARMERS

[08] THE DEBTS OF THE GREEKS REACHED 7.5 TRILLION DRACHMAS

[09] GREEK INVESTMENTS OF US$50 MILLION IN GEORGIA

[10] IRINI PAPA IS A LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF ATHENS

[11] KARAMANLIS SUPPORTS SIMITIS

[12] 200 KILOS OF COCAINE SEIZED

[01] SIMITIS MEETS WITH DIMITRIOS AND ANNAN

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis is in New York today. At 9:30am (local time) he will meet with Archbishop of America Dimitrios and then he will go to ground zero, to honor the September 11 victims of the twin towers. At 4pm the Prime Minister Simitis will meet with the Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan. In the evening he will depart for Washington, where he will have discussions with US President George Bush in the White House.

Shortly before departing for New YorkMr. Simitis sent a clear message stating that the Greek government will not be pressured, will not accept being pressured, and that the years when Greek Prime Ministers went to other countries to have his own policy dictated to him, is long past. The Prime Minister's reaction came after the unsubstantiated claims on terrorism issues presented on CBS's 60 Minutes.

[02] MAGRIOTIS: WE WILL NOT MOVE THE AEGEAN BORDERS AN INCH

"The Aegean has borders, which have been there for decades, and we are not about to move an inch or accept any sort of ambiguity on those borders, stated Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giannis Magriotis.

We reacted to the US geographic service erasing of the sea borders on the whole planet because they did not just to it to Greece and we will continue to do so, until we receive secure and absolute assurance of the reasons this erasure took place, he pointed out in an interview on Flash radio, and observed: It is a decision that may be revoked and not take effect in our region. There are procedures we have adopted and we have appealed to the proper bodies, and I believe that we will get the proper results. In no case will Greece accept any ambiguity if it is kept by the US. Specifically, Greece will not accept them as NATO operational maps. Whenever an operation is planned in the region, we will take into account and we have the right to impose this the maps that have been in effect so far. This is the reality of the issue. While there is also a procedure of repealing this tactical decision within NATO frameworks.

[03] FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IS A GREEK PRIORITY

US Administration must understand that Greece is not just a democratic country, but one which has defeating terrorism as a priority, underlined Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Papandreou, in an interview to Ta Nea (The News).

He pointed out that cooperation with the US on the issue of fighting terrorism is better than ever, and mentioned exactly that point had been recognized by relevant US officials, among whom Foreign Minister Colin Powell.

Concerning the publications and the television shows, with unsubstantiated accusations against Greece, the Minister attributes it to psychological prejudice in former US officials, who served in Greece, and were either unsatisfied with the cooperation of the Greek government, or had no results after their service.

[04] CHRISTODOULAKIS: THE OA ISSUE WILL BE SETTLED BY JANUARY 31

The issue of the state-owned Olympic Airways will be settled by January 31, according to Minister of Finance Nikos Christodoulakis. This is the conclusion reached by the Ministries of Finance and Transportation after examining the latest available information on the interest expressed regarding the privatization of the airline.

The Integrated Airlines Solutions management group is in Athens since yesterday for talks with representatives of the privatization adviser, CSFB. By the end of the month the Greek government will be briefed on the outcome of the talks and will be able to decide if it will sign an agreement for the sale of the company.

Two are the main issues that will have to be discussed by the joint venture and the privatization adviser, namely the issue of the personnel that will be employed in the new company and the final operational plan concerning the flights that will be conducted by the new Olympic Airways.

[05] HITIRIS: MR. KARAMANLIS' STANCE ON MR. SIMITIS' VISIT TO THE US IS POSITIVE

Acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris characterized as positive the stance adopted by right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis. Mr. Karamanlis had stated, while addressing the parliament, that he backs the Prime Minister's trip to the United States and Mr. Hitiris commented that Mr. Karamanlis must maintain this stance and in the future.

He said that this stance by Mr. Karamanlis should become permanent and embrace other issues of national importance as well, such as the economy.

Mr. Hitiris stated that when the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister will return from the United States they will be ready to brief the political party leaders on the course of their visit.

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to 0.74% at 2.582,26 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 94.37 million Euro or 32.16 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 94 recorded gains and 217 had losses, while the value of 36 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] MEASURES TO BACK THE FARMERS

Ministers of Finance and Agriculture, Nikos Christodoulakis and Giorgos Dris announced measures to assist the farmers who suffered damages because of the recent bad weather that hit a large part of the country.

As it was made known, 50% of the compensation will be paid immediately and the rest by the end of May.

Mr. Christodoulakis also stated that inspections will be made in the market to limit the instances of goods overpricing warning that the violators will have to pay heavy fines.

[08] THE DEBTS OF THE GREEKS REACHED 7.5 TRILLION DRACHMAS

The debts of the Greeks to banks and credit organizations for consumer and housing loans had reached 7.5 trillion drachmas at the end of October, according to figures provided by the Bank of Greece.

A marginal increase is recorded in the bank deposits which, according to Bank of Greece figures, reached 93.5 billion Euro at the end of October compared to 92.4 billion Euro at the end of September.

[09] GREEK INVESTMENTS OF US$50 MILLION IN GEORGIA

The Greek investments in the former soviet republic of Georgia are being made with a very slow pace as in spite of the important investment opportunities that often appear in the country in question the existing counterincentives slow down the planning of the interested investors.

Even though Georgia can open the way to investments in the rest Caspian Sea countries due to its geographic position, securing access to a market of tens of millions of consumers, the Greek investment presence there is still very poor.

For the record, the Greek investments made so far in Georgia by the 20 Greek businesses active in the country, are under US$50 million.

[10] IRINI PAPA IS A LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF ATHENS

Actress Irini Papa left open the likelihood to be a candidate for mayor of Athens in the next municipal elections. In an interview with the Athens television station Mega, she stated that she will think about it if a formal proposal is made to her.

She also stated that it is a challenge for her and if a formal proposal is made to her she will certainly think about it.

Acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris left open the likelihood for the governing socialist party of PASOK to back her candidature.

[11] KARAMANLIS SUPPORTS SIMITIS

From the Parliament's podium, President of New Democracy and leader of the Opposition Kostas Karamanlis, offered his support in the promotion of Kostas Simitis' negotiation position in view of the crucial discussions he will have in the US in the next few days, on the main national issues, that of Cyprus and that of the Euroearmy.

On issues of great national importance, foreign policy and security of the country, there can be no party lenses. Our proposals and our positions are known. All Greeks believe in same principles and values, and we want to be a force of stability in the region, stressed Mr. Karamanlis, taking the floor during a discussion at the Ministry of Defense.

[12] 200 KILOS OF COCAINE SEIZED

A great success for the Greek DEA (SDOE) was the finding and seizing of more than 200 pounds of cocaine in the Piraeus harbor. The operation took place with great secrecy and the leadership of (SDOE) will announce details tomorrow.

The authorities traced and seized 200 kilos (about 400 pounds) of cocaine in rice packaging found in containers in the Piraeus harbor, sent from Bocota, Colombia in December.

The drugs were found yesterday at noon in the 5th customs house of Pireaus, and the illegal items were addressed to individuals who had formed a front-company, and who didn't show up to receive their package. Investigations, which will hopefully lead to their arrest, are under way. The cocaine was valued at more than 17 million euro.

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