Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-03-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, France to promote relations in sports sector

[02] Turkish violations in Aegean an obstacle to normalisation

[03] Panorama of Greek cinema opens in Paris

[04] Turkish university honours Athens 2004 chief

[01] Greece, France to promote relations in sports sector

"In the spirit of francophonie we've decided to pursue an exchange programme of young people involved in sports and cultural events between France and Greece," Orfanos emphasised. "This will take place within a system which will be set up by a committee made up of representatives of the French embassy and the sports ministry and they will make all the necessary arrangements. The first phase concerns activities that will take place in 2005 and we have already decided on the exchange of 20 youngsters, aged 14-17, who will go to France. Our basic aim is to strengthen relations on a sports and cultural level," Orfanos added.

"We also discussed the possibility of Greece participating in the conference of French-speaking countries, which will focus on sports and youth," Delaye said. According to the French ambassador, the two officials also discussed the possibility of Greece participating as an observer in the sporting event of the French-speaking countries, which will take place in Nigeria in December.

Delaye also said that he would like the soccer teams of Marseilles and Piraeus, which are twin cities, to play against each other and asked Orfanos to convey the proposal to Piraeus' soccer team Olympiakos.

[02] Turkish violations in Aegean an obstacle to normalisation

Foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos stressed, moreover, that the European Union is being constantly briefed over the Turkish military's activity in the Aegean, especially infringements of Athens FIR (Flight Information Region) regulations and violations of Greek national airspace.

His statements came in response to a press question citing recent comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who referred to a "mutual understanding" by Ankara and Athens over the matter.

In a related development, Koumoutsakos confirmed a trip by Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis to Ankara, probably on April 12-13, following a Turkish government invitation.

Meanwhile, in statements touching on Cyprus, the spokesman said Greek involvement on matters of security and guarantees would be forthcoming if a new round of talks were to commence.

The response came in the wake of a press question citing Turkish officials' statements in favour of a meeting of representatives from Greece, Turkey and the two communities on the divided east Mediterranean island aiming at a solution to the long-standing problem.

Furthermore, he dismissed certain press reports claiming a rift between Nicosia and Athens over the Cypriot government's positions regarding direct trade with the Turkish-occupied areas of the island republic.

[03] Panorama of Greek cinema opens in Paris

The movie credits were greeted with a warm round of applause, as the movie ended. Voulgaris was unable to attend, but his wife and screenplay writer Ioanna Karystiani explained that he has just been released from the hospital, is well and is already making plans for his next film.

Famous director Costa Gavras was present at the film's showing and highlighted the film's high quality.

Karystiani spoke about her great respect for immigrants - the film's central theme - saying that "Emigration goes against human rights. It is a form of violence that forces us to leave behind our home country, our roots, the people we love."

"'Brides' pays tribute to women immigrants. It is also an invitation for us to strengthen our relations through compassion, memory and love. In life everything is a journey, [either] far away, out of the country, or within the darkness inside us. Truth does not depend on geography, truth exists in thought," she said.

Tassos Boulmeti's "Politiki Kouzina" was the second film to be shown in the context of the panorama on Thursday evening.

[04] Turkish university honours Athens 2004 chief

Students of the university selected Angelopoulos-Daskalaki from among a number of celebrity candidates, awarding her the "Courageous Woman 2004" award.

A representative of the Greek General Consulate in Istanbul received the award on her behalf, since Angelopoulos-Daskalaki was unable to attend the ceremony.

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