Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 99-04-01

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 01/04/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Greece, Romania: No change of borders in Balkans
• FM to Bonn for talks on Kosovo situation
• Greek participation in NATO operations ruled out
• Athens regrets rejection of truce proposal
• Kranidiotis accompanies Greek aid to Skopje
• Work stoppage called for Friday midday
• Police suspect November 17 behind abortive rocket launch
• Simitis meets with visiting Panamanian president
• Slovak deputy PM says hope for diplomatic solution
• Minister denies U.S. Ambassador to Greece interfering
• Greece offers to host Yugoslav volleyball matches
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Romania and Greece's defence ministers agreed on Thursday that a solution to the Kosovo crisis could only come through political and diplomatic means and said they were opposed to a change in Balkans borders, according to an ANA dispatch from Bucharest. "No change in existing borders in Yugoslavia and, more generally, Balkan countries is acceptable in the name of autonomy or the protection of the rights of minorities," Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said after talks with his Romanian counterpart, Victor Babiuc. Tsohatzopoulos arrived in the Romanian capital on Thursday. He is expected to travel to Sofia and Skopje on Friday. The protection of human rights and the autonomy of Kosovo is compatible within the existing borders of Yugoslavia, the Greek minister said.

FM to Bonn for talks on Kosovo situation

Foreign Minister George Papandreou will be in Bonn later on Thursday to attend a meeting organised by the German EU presidency on developments in Kosovo and dealing with the refugee problem. Papandreou, who returned late on Wednesday from a trip to Tirana, was informed of the German presidency's initiative by phone on Thursday morning. He told reporters that Greece had "vital interests in the region" and wanted to see full coordination of action so as to enable the best possible treatment of the humanitarian problem. The meeting will be attended by the EU troika of past, present and future EU presidents (Germany, Finland and Austria) as well as by the foreign ministers of the eight countries neighbouring the strife-torn region.

Greek participation in NATO operations ruled out

The possibility of Greek troops participating in NATO military operations in Kosovo is not being considered, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said on Thursday. Reppas added that "other European governments also do not want their troops to take part in ground operations in Yugoslavia". The spokesman also reiterated that Greece would not allow any NATO troops heading for Yugoslavia to pass through Greek territory, nor would it allow Turkish warplanes to use Greek air space. Over the past month, some 10,000 NATO troops have used the port and aiport of Thessaloniki in northern Greece to go to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) where they have been deployed in order to be ready to help enforce any peace agreement reached on Kosovo.

Athens regrets rejection of truce proposal

Commenting on the German government's rejection on Wednesday of a proposal put forward by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou for the suspension of NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia on the Catholic and Orthodox Easter Sundays on April 4 and 11 respectively, Reppas expressed Athens' regret, saying: "The position adopted by friends and partners to a proposal motivated by humanitarian considerations was negative, and they could have accepted a suspension of the bombing." German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told a joint news conference with Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping in Bonn yesterday that acceptance of Papandreou's proposal would be tantamount to granting permission to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to continue ethnic cleansing operations in Kosovo at Easter "and this would be inconceivable".

Kranidiotis accompanies Greek aid to Skopje

Alternate Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis and Deputy Interior Minister George Floridis left for Skopje on Thursday aboard an Hellenic Air Force C- 130 loaded with humanitarian aid for the neighbouring country. The aid, for refugees arriving from war-torn Kosovo, includes 20 tents, 4.5 tons of foodstuff and 5 tons of pharaceutical supplies. Greece began sending shipments of humanitarian assistance to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) earlier this week. A second C-130 took off for Tirana today with 80 tents and an ambulance. In addition, fifty container lorries with supplies departed Greece for Albania on Thursday and a further 500 are ready to leave within the next few days. While in Skopje, Kranidiotis and Floridis will have talks with FYROM officials.

Work stoppage called for Friday midday

Greece's two largest trade union groupings, representing workers in the public and private sectors, have announced a two-hour work stoppage for Friday to call for an immediate ceasefire in hostilities by NATO against Yugoslavia. Stores will also shut down during the work stoppage, beginning at 1 p.m., following agreement with merchants and craft industry union confederations, ESEE and GESEBE. ESEE president Christos Kollias said that merchants were concerned about the economic repercussions of an extended conflict in the region which he said could endanger Greece's progress towards economic and monetary union. The work stoppage on Friday is expected to affect banks, public utilities, transport and factories. President of the Federation of Rail Workers Epaminondas Koukas told reporters that rail workers would strike if they saw weapons, military materials or troops being transported on Greek tracks or the Greek rail network.

Police suspect November 17 behind abortive rocket launch

Police said today they believed the "November 17" terrorist group was behind a failed rocket attack against the headquarters of Greece's ruling PASOK party in downtown Athens late Wednesday night, as the attempt bore the hallmarks of the elusive organisation. They said a big explosion was heard at 10 minutes before midnight, and police who arrived on the sence found a home-made plastic rocket launcher with two alarm clocks and a 12- volt battery attached to it set up on the wall of an outdoor parking lot behind the building housing the PASOK headquarters in the central Athens district of Exarchia. The rocket struck the first-floor wall of the offices but did not explode and fell onto the balcony of the building next- door.

Simitis meets with visiting Panamanian president

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Thursday had talks with visiting Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares which centred on shipping and cultural issues. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Simitis said although the two countries may be geographically distant, they had contacts on many levels regarding issues of common interest, such as shipping and culture. Simitis expressed the hope that bilateral ties would further broadened. Balladares, whose country takes over the administration of the Panama Canal on January 1, 2000, told Simitis that Panama was determined to provide services of an impeccable standard to users of the waterway. He also gave the assurance that Canal dues paid by vessels passing through the waterway would not increase in the slightest and would remain at present levels.

Slovak deputy PM says hope for diplomatic solution

Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Pavol Hamzik said on Thursday the prospect existed for a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo problem, stressing the need for the European Union to cement its political presence in the future through the strengthening of common foreign and security policy. He was speaking after a meeting with Foreign Minister George Papandreou. Hamzik said he discussed with Papandreou the crisis in Yugoslavia as well as EU issues such as enlargement, employment and Agenda 2000, and thanked him for Greece's support of Slovakia's bid to join the EU.

Minister denies U.S. Ambassador to Greece interfering

Greece on Thursday rejected charges that the U.S. envoy to Greece was interfering and pressuring the Greek government over developments in Kosovo. U.S. Ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns "may provoke on certain occasions or might appear to but the government will not allow him to proceed beyond what his duties in Greece bind him to," Deputy Defence Minister Dimitris Apostolakis told Parliament in response from Communist Party of Greece deputy Dimitris Costopoulos. Apostolakis said speculation over Burns's visits to the defence ministry created "the false impression that the PASOK government was being pressured". He said the U.S. diplomat's visit to the head of the Greek armed forces was purely a courtesy call and simply coincided with the developments in Kosovo.

Greece offers to host Yugoslav volleyball matches

Greece on Thursday offered to host the games of the Yugoslav men's national volleyball team in the World League '99 after the team's participation was withdrawn from the competition by the organisers because of the current situation in Yugoslavia. A relevant request from the Yugoslav volleyball federation was accepted by its Greek counterpart with the consenting opinion of Sports Undersecretary Andreas Fouras. The final decision however rests with the World League Council, which on Tuesday announced that it had been forced to cancel Yugoslavia's participation. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) subsequently gave Yugoslavia's place in pool C of the competition to Portugal.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Thursday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          301.469
Pound sterling       486.060
Japanese yen (100)   253.129
French franc          49.293
German mark          165.323
Italian lira (100)    16.699
Irish Punt           410.560
Belgian franc          8.015
Luxembourg franc       8.015
Finnish mark          54.382
Dutch guilder        146.727
Danish kr.            43.537
Austrian sch.         23.498
Spanish peseta         1.943
Swedish kr.           36.440
Norwegian kr.         38.781
Swiss franc          202.517
Port. Escudo           1.613
Aus. dollar          189.968
Can. dollar          197.487
Cyprus pound         556.452
Euro                 323.342

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