Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-10-23

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 23/10/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Athens satisfied with Holbrooke stance; State Dept. correction
• State Dept. spokesman retracts 'overflight' statement
• Greek-American leader condemns Turkish provocations
• 12 public utilities set for partial bourse flotation
• Greece may bar Kopelouzos Group from Russian natural gas project
• Greek stocks edge up after four-day slump
• Greece won't accept NATO decision encroaching on sovereign rights
• Patriarch received by Clinton, to meet with Albright
• ETBA achieves operational profits
• Greek-Venezuelan tourism agreement signed
• Mili Agiou Georgiou ponders investment in Romanian subsidiary
• Most services on strike today
• Archaeologists strike
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Athens yesterday welcomed statements by US special presidential emissary for Cyprus Richard Holbrooke on Tuesday that Turkish harassment of a plane carrying Greek National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos to and from Cyprus last week was "a reality" a nd said the US State Department was wrong in not outrightly admitting it.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas expressed satisfaction over Mr. Holbrooke's statements, reiterating that the position expressed on Monday by US State Department spokesman James Rubin was "unacceptable and unprecedented."

In a new development yesterday Mr. Rubin retracted his Monday statements, saying top US officials have set the issue before the Turkish government.

Referring to what he called the confusion caused by State Department spokesman James Rubin's statement that the transport plane had violated an agreed moratorium on military flights over Cyprus, Mr. Holbrooke said that Mr. Rubin had not been properly in formed by the State Department bureaucracy.

State Dept. spokesman retracts 'overflight' statement

US State Department spokesman James Rubin yesterday retracted his statement on Monday that the flight of Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos to and from Cyprus constituted an "overflight."

"On Monday I didn't do my job properly," he said. "The last 24 hours top officials of the US administration have set the issue before the Turkish government," he added.

"Our Turkish allies realise the gravity with which we deal with the information we have and the need in the future for Turkish acts not to contribute to creating an atmosphere of tension between Turkey and its neighbours," he said.

Regarding the steps Washington took, he said: "We have expressed directly to the Turkish government our position that we find the act of (their) flying near the aircraft of the Greek defence minister disturbing".

Replying to a Reuters question on the exact location of the harassment, the spokesman replied: "We believe on the basis of public information and data that it (incident) occurred exactly where it is said to have happened. We have no reason to doubt that ".

Mr. Rubin reiterated that both countries should avoid possible friction and tension points, saying "we believe it is important that Greece and Turkey guarantee that the Turkish exercises scheduled early in November will not create new tension...

"We continue to urge both countries to return to the moratorium of flights of fighter planes over Cyprus."

He noted that it was necessary to focus on the future "and that the US remains determined to work with Greece and Turkey to improve relations between the two countries".

Replying to questions on whether Mr. Tsohatzopoulos was on a civilian or fighter aircraft, Mr. Rubin said: "From what I realise from public statements, it was not a fighter aircraft."

Greek-American leader condemns Turkish provocations

The president of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) for North and South America, Christos Tomaras, yesterday condemned Turkey's provocations the past few days and said "the fact the US is making efforts to keep an equal distance (between Greece and Turkey) by attributing part of the responsibility on Greece is a matter of great concern".

He explained that "the State Department should clarify its position and use harsh language with Turkey".

Mr. Tomaras said that the "intense and dangerous harassment" of Turkish aircraft against the plane on which Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos was returning from Cyprus..."is yet more proof that Turkey does not respect international agreements and rules of lawful behaviour".

12 public utilities set for partial bourse flotation

The Greek government will seek a further fall in inflation through a freeze on public utility charges and part-floatations for 12 profitable state firms over the next three years.

"Our target is either no actual rises or a minimum increase (in charges)," National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou told a news conference yesterday.

State-owned companies to be partly privatised in the next three years included Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, Piraeus and Thessaloniki harbours, Olympic Catering, Olympic Travel and Athens water utility. The government intends to float 20-30 pe rcent of their capital on the Athens Stock Exchange.

Mr. Papantoniou said that the government will seek in the next three years a rationalisation of loss-making public sector enterprises, a review of shareholding policy for unlisted public utilities, and a settlement of cross-company debts.

Strategic deals in the high-technology sector would also be pursued, he said.

Greece may bar Kopelouzos Group from Russian natural gas project

Greece may break off cooperation with the Kopelouzos Group in a project underway to supply the country with Russian natural gas, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said yesterday.

The move would be made if the Group's interests over supplies failed to coincide with those of the state, Mr. Reppas said.

He was responding to a statement by a representative of the major project's supplier, who did not rule out terminating supplies due to delays in the project cited by Russia.

The government was eager to see the project go ahead but also was seeking alternativ e supply sources, Mr. Reppas said.

Development Minister Vasso Papandreou also responded:

"Natural liquid gas and its transport by submarine pipelines are competitive, alternate solutions to the land transport of gas. In this way new possibilities are opened up for simultaneous supply from other sources which not only do away with dependence on one source but increase the security of the system," Ms. Papandreou said.

Greek stocks edge up after four-day slump

Greek equities rebounded moderately yesterday ending a four-day decline on the Athens Stock Exchange, helped by technical factors.

The general index closed 0.20 percent higher at 1,735.94 points, but trading slowed further. Turnover was light at 16 billion drachmas.

Sector indices ended mixed. Banks rose 0.27 percent, Insurance fell 0.50 percent, Leasing dropped 1.16 percent, Investment eased 0.20 percent, Construction was 1.07 percent off, Industrials rose 0.67 percent, Miscellaneous dropped 0.73 percent and Holding fell 0.07 percent. The parallel market index for small cap companies eased 0.12 percent. Broadly decliners led advancers by 126 to 100 with another 27 issues unchanged.

Ideal, Keranis, Cambas and Boutaris scored the biggest percentage gains while Alysida, Zamba suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 31,300 drachmas, Ergobank at 18,990, Alpha Credit Bank at 20,520, Delta Dairy at 4,050, Titan Cement at 15,890, Intracom at 15,895 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 6, 580.

In the domestic foreign exchange market the US dollar rose substantially against the drachma.

Greece won't accept NATO decision encroaching on sovereign rights

Greece will in no case accept NATO decisions which will encroach upon our sovereign rights, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said in Parliament yesterday in response to a tabled question by PASOK deputy Anastasios Peponis and after press reports alleging establishment of new NATO headquarters in Larisa and Izmir without specific areas of responsibility.

The prime minister said NATO was planning more flexible tactics in view of the prospective enlargement, stressing that certain general orientations and the form of the new regional headquarters were under discussion and that certain informal decisions h ad been reached.

He was categorical that no decisions would be approved without Greece's agreement, and that in no way would the new NATO structure encroach upon the sovereign rights of member-states.

"We shall have a view and it will not be possible for the command or direction of operations to be given to a Turkish commander," he said.

"The peculiarities of each country, and particularly in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean due to Turkey's tactics, must be taken into account," he added.

He explained that NATO's new military structure will not have the form of the previous one. There will be new regional headquarters which will operate according to the wishes of the member-states.

"In no case are we prepared to let the Turks control, intervene and determine matters," he added.

Patriarch received by Clinton, to meet with Albright

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos was received yesterday by US President Bill Clinton at the White House. Vartholomeos and President Clinton met for approximately 45 minutes, before First Lady Hillary Clinton hosted a reception for the world's pre-eminent Orthodox leader.

The Patriarch was expected later at the US State Department for a meeting with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. An official dinner hosted by Ms Albright will follow, with Alternate Foreign Minister George Papadreou, currently on a US visit is also scheduled to attend.

The Patriarch is continuing his month-long, 16-city visit to the United States with several high-level meetings.

In a speech to Congress, Vartholomeos extolled religious and spiritual freedom in the US, saying: "Unfortunately, not all peoples have acquired the intelligence of Americans, which is based on the principles of the Holy Scriptures and accepts that spiri tual freedom is more beneficial than the forceful imposition of beliefs.

"The result is that America is progressing through spiritual freedom, while other people are wasting their strength persecuting ideas and obstructing the free expression of religious and other beliefs".

ETBA achieves operational profits

The Hellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETBA) has achieved operational profits amounting to two billion drachmas, following seven years of consecutive loss-containing balance sheets.

The result exceeds every prediction contained in the five-year programme for restructuring the problematic bank and consequently its Governor Georgios Kasmas expressed his satisfaction yesterday.

In 1996 the result was a loss of 5.1 billion drachmas and in 1995 25.1 billion drachmas. In the industrial sector a considerable recovery is taking place in the financing of firms. A programme for financing big construction projects started recently and is expected to be intensified. It is a sector acquiring considerable interest due to the as-sumption of the 2004 Olympiad by Athens.

Greek-Venezuelan tourism agreement signed

Development Minister Vasso Papandreou and Venezuelan Tourism Minister Herman Louis Soriano signed a bileral tourism cooperation agreement at the offices of the Greek Tourist Organisation (EOT) yesterday, in the presence of EOT Secretary General Nikos Skou las and the Venezuelan ambassador Rafael Huizi Clavier.

The agreement anticipates cooperation to further promote and strengthen relations between the two countries in the tourism sector through the development and increase in tourist travel between the two countries and the activation of travel agencies and their other tourist enterprises.

The two countries will encourage mutual tourist travel, possibilities of their participation in tourist events (exhibitions, seminars, etc), attraction of visitors from third countries and cooperation in the sector of vocational training for specialised tourist personnel.

Furthermore, the exchange of knowhow and experts is anticipated in tourist issues, as well as facilitating businessmen from both sides in investing and creating joint tourist businesses.

Mili Agiou Georgiou ponders investment in Romanian subsidiary

The Myloi Agiou Georgiou company is considering investment of US$8.5 million in the Romanian Titan company, which it acquired recently, over the next four years with the purpose of modernising and expanding its activities.

The company, which has the third largest mill in the Balkans and one of the most modern in Europe, is mainly a bread and flour producer, while it also has a network of 40 foodstores.

Myloi Agiou Georgiou officials said that with this purchase one of the company's strategic targets was achieved, namely, to infiltrate a market with a large grain consumption, such as the Romanian market.

Most services on strike today

A 24-hour strike called by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) today, in support of demands concerning social insurance, tax reform and employment, will affect a wide section of public utilities, as follows: