Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-03-23
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 23/03/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Tsohatzopoulos meets Yugoslav counterpart
- Spokesman says no Pangalos-Tsohatzopoulos disagreement
- Crime, the police and foreigners
- Greek-Israeli talks begin
- Investigation into police shoot-out
- Importer of firecrackers arrested
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Tsohatzopoulos meets Yugoslav counterpart
Regional cooperation between Balkan nations will act as a complement the
work of organisations such as NATO and the Western European Union, Greece's
Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said today.
Tsohatzopoulos was speaking after meeting with his Yugoslav counterpart,
Pavle Vulatovic, who is currently visiting Athens.
The two ministers agreed that a meeting of Balkan defence ministers should
be held sometime this year to continue the work begun at the meeting of
foreign ministers in Thessaloniki and last November's Crete summit of
Balkan leaders, in aid of regional cooperation and stability.
Tsohatzopoulos said he had raised the idea of a meeting already with his
counterparts in Skopje and Tirana.
Tsohatzopoulos and Vulatovic discussed regional hotspots, such as Bosnia
and Kosovo, during their meeting.
Both men agreed, Tsohatzopoulos said, that security and stability in the
Balkans required a greater degree of cooperation between the peoples of the
region and are prerequisites for economic development with the prospect of
the European Union's expansion.
The Greek minister reiterated the government's standing position on Kosovo:
condemnation of terrorist activity as a means to achieve the human rights
of minorities; support for unconditional dialogue for a democratic and
peaceful resolution of the problem; and that this dialogue ensure human
rights with the possibility of greater autonomy within the framework of the
Yugoslav Republic, but not independence for Kosovo.
Tsohatzopoulos expressed his hope that there would be "positive prospects"
to follow from Belgrade's initiatives and from Sunday's elections in
Kosovo.
Vulatovic said Kosovo was an integral part of Yugoslavia and was a domestic
problem.
The government of Yugoslavia is ready to resolve all problems related to
human rights on the basis of the UN Charter, the Helsinki and Paris
treaties and in line with texts by the Council of Europe.
He called on the international community to condemn "acts of terrorism" in
Kosovo recently, stressing that each country dealt with terrorism with
legal means, as was the case with Kosovo.
Vulatovic charged that the leaders of the Albanian minority in Kosovo had
ignored a call for talks with Belgrade, despite the fact that the call had
been responded to by other minority groups in the region.
He said that "a small segment" of the Albanian minority wanted an
independent state in Kosovo and said Sunday's elections in the province
were a "parody", noting that the Yugoslav government had done nothing to
stop them.
The Yugoslav authorities remain open to the possibility of talks on a
resolution of problems, but always on the basis of the Yugoslav constitution.
Vulatovic agreed that security in the region had to be in the hands of
Balkan countries themselves, without ruling out the contribution of other
countries to this end.
"A selective approach to issues of security in the Balkans, however, will
not bring the desired results," he said.
Spokesman says no Pangalos-Tsohatzopoulos disagreement
"Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos reiterated the well-known Greek
positions, which are in full harmony with what the government has stated on
occasion," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today, adding that
there was "no issue of disagreement" between Pangalos and National Defence
Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos.
The spokesman was replying to questions on a statement by Pangalos in
Washington late Friday after talks with US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
Pangalos told reporters after the meeting that he and Albright had
discussed the Cyprus issue and "analysed our view that steps should be
taken to decrease, stop, or rather, reverse the mlitary build-up (on
Cyprus)".
Pangalos explained, however, that this should begin "with aircraft, which
are the most advanced weapons", adding "if there are no aircraft, there
would be no (need for) anti-aircraft systems, and then there could be a
reduction in tanks, which could slowly lead to a better climate".
The Cyprus government decided in early 1997 to purchase several Russian-
made S-300 surface-to-air missiles to boost its defence. Deployment of the
anti-aircraft missiles, tentatively scheduled for mid-1998, would
effectively reduce Turkish air superiority over the island.
Reppas said the missiles issue was being handled by the Cyprus government
"responsibly", and "has stressed that it would examine postponement of
their (the missiles') deployment provided a prospect for demilitarisation
on a visible horizon was ascertained".
Greece, he added, agreed with and backed that position since "if there is
no danger, then there is no need to reinforce defence".
Reppas said there was a need for progress for both demilitarisation (to be
feasible) and for finding a solution to the political problem in Cyprus,
"although to date such has not been forthcoming due to the stance of
(Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf) Mr. Denktash and Turkey".
He also denied reports that Prime Minister Costas Simitis had put the issue
of the S-300 to Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, saying that there had
been no change in Greece's policy on the matter.
He also denied rumours that US President Bill Clinton's recent letter to
Clerides more or less contained an ultimatum, adding that it was a letter
of congratulations on Clerides' recent re-election "which contained
thoughts and ideas on the Cyprus issue".
Crime, the police and foreigners
No new measures against the rising crime rate are to be announced following
a meeting between Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the public order
ministry and police (ELAS) leadership today, according to spokesman
Dimitris Reppas, although he added that increased patrols over the past
week had already borne results.
However, Reppas said that the issue is likely to be raised at a meeting of
the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) on Friday,
called to discuss security and the armed forces procurements programme.
Reppas said it was likely that other issues, such as law and order, would
be discussed then.
Meanwhile, responding to a question regarding the attribution of crimes to
foreigners and fears of racist phenomena, Reppas said:
"The presence of numerous foreigners has created an imbalance, but we must
all act in a responsible manner. It is a matter of personal responsibility."
Greek-Israeli talks begin
A four-member Israeli delegation led by foreign ministry alternate
secretary general for West European affairs Colette Avital today began
talks at the Greek foreign ministry on bilateral relations and regional
issues of common interest.
This is the second round of such talks in the framework of political
dialogue between the two ministries.
The Greek delegation is headed by foreign ministers political director
Ilias Gounaris.
The Israeli team, which arrived in Athens last night, is also due to meet
later in the day with foreign undersecretary Yannos Kranidiotis.
Investigation into police shoot-out
Police are continuing to search for a convicted murderer involved in a
shoot-out with police officers on Saturday night that left his brother dead
and two officers injured.
Fully-armed police searched the family home of Panayotis Vlastos in
Metamorphossi today, in the hope that they would find a trail to the 27-
year-old.
His brother, Costas Vlastos, 33, was killed in the shoot-out on Saturday.
Both men were serving 15 year jail terms for their involvement in a 1994
double murder, but were released from jail on a five-day leave in December
last year. On being arrested by police three days into their leave, the two
brothers were inexplicably allowed to continue their leave, despite being
found in possession of a pistol, a small amount of hashish and wearing
bulletproof vests.
They failed to return to jail when their leave ended.
Sources at the justice ministry said that a preliminary investigation into
why the two brothers were allowed to continue their leave was already under
way.
Senior police officials are expected to brief Prime Minister Costas Simitis
on the matter later in the day.
Meanwhile, one of the two police officers injured in the shoot-out remained
in a serious condition in hospital, suffering from a wound to the
neck.
Importer of firecrackers arrested
A Greek truck driver has been arrested in the central Greek port city of
Patras after police found and confiscated 241 cases of Italian-made
firecrackers in his truck.
Police said Vassilis Theodoropoulos, 64, had loaded his truck with the 725,
000 firecrackers from a factory in Italy and brought them by ferry to
Patras. The firecrackers were destined for the Athens market in view of
Greek Orthodox Easter next month.
WEATHER
Overcast weather, sleet and snow are forecast in the northeast of the
country and the eastern Aegean islands. Mostly cloudy weather with possible
sleet or snow expected in the rest of the country. Winds northwesterly,
moderate to strong. Athens partly cloudy with spells of sunshine and
temperatures from 3-10C. Thessaloniki overcast with temperatures between 1-
6C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Friday's closing rates (buying): U.S. dollar 321.358
British pound 533.537 Japanese Yen(100) 247.127
French franc 52.241 German mark 175.088
Italian lira (100) 17.807 Irish Punt 439.575
Belgian franc 8.489 Finnish mark 57.774
Dutch guilder 155.367 Danish kr. 45.959
Austrian sch. 24.886 Spanish peseta 2.066
Swedish kr. 40.236 Norwegian kr. 42.184
Swiss franc 214.525 Port. Escudo 1.712
AUS dollar 213.250 Can. dollar 226.176
Cyprus pound 601.747
(Y.B.)
|
