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Athens News Agency: News in English, 97-01-29

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 29/01/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

  • Russian foreign ministry envoys meet with FM Pangalos
  • Farmers in Larissa hold rally, march
  • Greek engineering firms present pioneering energy project for Moldova
  • German woman extradited
  • Illegal immigrants arrested
  • Cyprus-EU talks to start after IGC
  • Ciller threatens NATO expansion, Italy reacts
  • Turkish planes violate Greek airspace
  • World Council of Churches protest sentencing of bishop in Turkey
  • Culture Ministers begin arriving in Thessaloniki
  • Recent archaeological find will not be built over
  • OTE satellite station begins operating

    NEWS IN DETAIL

    Russian foreign ministry envoys meet with FM Pangalos

    Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos today noted a ''wide-ranging coincidence of views'' during talks here today with two envoys of Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov who are currently visiting the region.

    The director of the third directorate for European Affairs at the Russian foreign ministry, Vladimir Tchizov and deputy director of the ministry's international organisations' department, Aleksandr Orlov are visiting Athens, Nicosia and Ankara in order to highlight Moscow's willingness to play an active role in finding a solution to problems in the southeast Mediterranean, particularly the Cyprus problem.

    After the meeting, Pangalos said the two sides shared the view that the United Nations should be the principal agency in efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.

    Underlining that all separate initiatives aimed at finding a Cyprus settlement were welcome, Pangalos said that the Russian initiative was one of the most important.

    Pangalos said the discussion had also revolved around the basic principles which must govern international relations and the operation of the UN which, he added, must be respected by all.

    He also thanked the Russian officials for Moscow's assistance in bolstering Cyprus' defence -- a clear reference to the anti-aircraft missile system recently ordered by Nicosia.

    Asked whether Moscow was concerned about the reaction to the missile purchase from Turkey and the United States, Tchizov replied that ''Russia is concerned about the lack of progress in the Cyprus problem''.

    Commenting on the missile deal, Tchizov said that Moscow's positions were already known. He reiterated that Cyprus, like any other sovereign state, had every right to conclude agreements.

    He also launched a thinly veiled attack on those who he said ''want to leave Russia out of the arms market''.

    Farmers in Larissa hold rally, march

    Farmers held a protest rally this morning in the centre of Larissa under the watchful eye of a strong police force which had earlier guarded approaches to the town to prevent the protesters from bringing tractors in.

    The rally was addressed by representatives of the pan-Thessaly coordinating committee which organised the protest, who called on the government to satisfy their demands, while underlining that they did not wish to enter into a confrontation with the police.

    The farmers later marched to the Larisa courthouse to express their support for 19 colleagues on trial there, charged with obstructing traffic during previous protests.

    The protesters were later scheduled to head for the Larissa prefectural building where they were expected to request a meeting with the local prefect in order to put forward their demands.

    Greek engineering firms undertake pioneering energy project for Moldova

    Two Greek engineering companies and their bankers today presented a 38 million dollar project aimed at securing for Moldova liquid fuel supplies by sea for the first time in the country's history.

    The two companies -- Elliniki Technodomiki and Avax -- have undertaken the study, construction and operation of a port terminal, eight fuel storage tanks and auxiliary facilities in the area of Giurgiulesti on the banks of the Danube river.

    Giurgiulesti provides Moldova's only access to the sea.

    In addition to the construction and project management, the Greek companies will also operate the venture for 25 years on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.

    The project will be financed 33 per cent from own funds, 42 per cent from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loans and 25 per cent from the three Greek banks cooperating in the project -- the National Bank, Commercial Bank and General Bank.

    It will be the first time that the EBRD funds an investment with the participation of agencies of both the public and private sectors.

    Also considered an innovation is the participation of the Greek banks in the syndicated loan which will be lead managed by the EBRD.

    The project is expected to be completed within 20 months, although it is hoped partial operation will be possible after just 14 months.

    By securing fuel supplies by sea, in tankers with a 10,000 DWT capacity, the Moldovan government hopes to save hundreds of millions of dollars. Up to now, Moldova has been supplied with liquid fuel only by road and rail, at a high cost.

    The terminal and other facilities to be built at Giurgiulesti will have an annual capacity for moving 2.1 metric tonnes of liquid fuel. The Moldovan government has guaranteed the movement of at least 1 million tonnes annually at an agreed price.

    The project in effect inaugurates a major Greek presence in Moldova which is expected to grow with bilateral economic cooperation in other sectors also.

    The initial agreement was signed by the Moldovan government and the consortium which will implement it -- Terminal S.A. -- in 1995, shortly after which it was ratified by the Moldovan parliament.

    The final agreement was signed last December.

    German woman extradited

    Andrea Hausler, a 31-year-old German woman wanted in connection with the deadly 1986 disco bombing in West Berlin, will be put on a Lufthansa flight from Thessaloniki to Munich early this afternoon, following an extradition order, police sources said today.

    The sources said that Hausler would be turned over to German police authorities who arrived in Thessaloniki at noon today to accompany her back to Germany on Lufthansa flight 3715, leaving Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport at 15:25 local time.

    Hausler, who was arrested last October while vacationing with her two-year- old son and boyfriend in Halkidiki, near Thessaloniki, is sought in connection with the disco bombing, in which 3 people were killed -- two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman -- and 200 wounded, most of them U.S. military personnel.

    She is being held at Diavata prison on Thessaloniki pending extradition.

    Two other people were arrested in Germany in October in connection with the attack, which the U.S. blamed on Libya and retaliated by bombing the Arab state.

    Illegal immigrants arrested

    Coastguard officers today arrested 47 illegal immigrants when the ferry- boat on which they were travelling arrived in the western port city of Patras.

    The 42 men, 3 women and 2 children were arrested aboard the Ionian Star, which they had boarded in a truck driven by Evangelos Tzoumas who was arrested and is being held by the Italian authorities in Ancona.

    Of the 47 illegal immigrants, 42 are Iraqis of Kurdish origin, 3 are Pakistanis and 2 are Indians.

    Negotiations for Cyprus EU accession to start six months after IGC

    European Commission President Jacques Santer has confirmed that negotiations for Cyprus' full EU membership will start six months after the end of the inter-governmental Conference (IGC), clarifying that "there is no differ ence of views in the Commission on this".

    "We arrived at a total agreement regarding enlargement with Cyprus on March 6, 1995. We remain put on this agreement with Cyprus, for negotiations to begin six months after the completion of the IGC," he said in answer to a question in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

    Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, he expressed hope that problems will be solved, and said that the Council of Ministers had dealt with this issue.

    Ciller threatens to block NATO expansion

    Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said in Rome yesterday that Ankara had no territorial claims on Greek land, and appealed to the international community to help spur talks with Athens to end what she called "political nonsense".

    "We have no territorial claims whatsoever at all," she said on the eve of a meeting with an informal "contact group" with Turkey - otherwise known as 5+1 - comprised of the foreign ministers from Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Britain.

    Ms Ciller also stressed that Ankara could veto NATO expansion eastwards, unless the European Union decided to forge closer links with Turkey.

    Italian reactions

    Ms Ciller's official visit caused strong reactions in the Italian Parliament, with 21 members describing the visit as "untimely" in a letter to Prime Ministe Romano Prodi and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, stressing that a time of ongoing investigations into recent revelations regarding her connections with drug trafficking, and continuous violations of human rights, it is "scandalous" for the government to be reaching agreements with her.

    Turkish aircraft violate Greek airspace

    Turkish aircraft violated air traffic regulations and Greek national airspace on five occasions yesterday, reports said. Two pairs of F-16 and F- 4 aircraft entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on four occasions, engaging in violations of Greek airspace in the area between the eastern Aegean islands of Hios, Limnos and Lesvos. In all cases, the Turkish aircraft were identified and escorted out of national airspace by Hellenic Air Force F-16s and F-1s.

    W.C.C. protests bishop's sentence by Turkey

    The Geneva-based World Council of Churches has written to Turkish Justice Minister Sevket Kazan requesting the immediate rescinding of an Istanbul court judgement sentencing a bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to five months imprisonment.

    The court handed the suspended sentence on Metropolitan Iakovos of Laodikia for officiating at a service at a Bulgarian Orthodox Church near Fener.

    In the letter to Mr. Kazan, the World Council of Churches points out that the Metropolitan was officiating at the invitation of the parish council and his presence was in keeping with an agreement between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Sofia.

    "According to this agreement," the letter says, "the Bulgarian parishes in Istanbul are under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the Greek parishes in Bulgaria are under the Bulgarian Patriarchate".

    Describing the court decision as "unwarranted and unlawful", the council said it constituted "a serious breach of the internationally accepted norms and principles of religious freedom, liberty and belief, and is violative of church, state relations."

    The letter calls on Mr. Kazan "to take immediately the necessary steps in view of rescinding the decision of the Court."

    Culture ministers begin arriving in Thessaloniki

    Culture ministers from 40 countries in the Balkans, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the European Union began to arrive in Thessaloniki yesterday in order to participate in a two-day meeting of culture ministers tomorrow.

    As official guests of the Cultural Capital of Europe organisation, the ministers will also attend a three-day opening ceremony for the Cultural Capital.

    The culture ministers of Armenia, Georgia and Jordan arrived in Thessaloniki yesterday, while the rest are scheduled to arrive Friday.

    Museum won't be built over recently discovered Lyceum

    Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos has announced that a new area will be found for the proposed "Vasili and Eliza Goulandri" Modern Art Museum in Athens.

    Following a meeting he had with Eliza Goulandri, the minister announced that they had arrived at the decision that a museum could not exist over the site of the recently uncovered ancient ruins believed to be Aristotle's Lyceum.

    "Co-existence is not the solution which favours the double aim: the display of the findings on one hand, with the parallel presence of modern Greece on the other," Mr Venizelos said.

    New OTE satellite station begins operation

    The Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) yesterday announced the official operation of its new satellite station at the Thermopyles Communications Satellite Centre.

    The station will cover telephone, telex, telefax and computer data for Inmarsat-A terminals in the east Atlantic ocean region.

    The estimated investment for the satellite station is 730 million drachmas.

    WEATHER

    Fair with local clouds and possible drizzle in the afternoon in most parts of Greece. The Cyclades, eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Thrace, Thessaly and Macedonia will be partly cloudy with moderate northerly winds becoming stronger later in the day. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures between 3-11C. Thessaloniki will be overcast with temperatures between 1- 8C.

    FOREIGN EXCHANGE

    Closing rates - buying US dlr. 256.769 Pound sterling 414.537 Cyprus pd 518.419 French franc 46.033 Swiss franc 179.076 German mark 155.218 Italian lira (100) 15.953 Yen (100) 212.576 Canadian dlr. 191.000 Australian dlr. 198.102 Irish Punt 408.605 Belgian franc 7.529 Finnish mark 52.636 Dutch guilder 138.210 Danish kr. 40.732 Swedish kr. 35.166 Norwegian kr. 39.234 Austrian sh. 22.069 Spanish peseta 1.844 Portuguese escudo 1.552

    (M.P.)


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