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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-10-15
CONTENTS
[01] Ecumenical Patriarch, Patriarch of All Russia on Rhodes
[02] Greek bid to host World Mountain Rescue Con'f
[03] FM spokesman again comments on US visa waiver program
[04] Spokesman on Cyprus issue
[01] Ecumenical Patriarch, Patriarch of All Russia on Rhodes
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (Vartholomeos) and the Orthodox
Primates accompanying him on a tour tracing in the travels of the
Apostle Paul, are on the Dodecanese island of Rhodes. Later in the
afternoon, the Orthodox clerics will attend a symposium dedicated to
the life and work of the Apostle Paul, organised by the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bartholomew is accompanied by
Patriarchs Alexy of Moscow and All Russia; Theodoros of Alexandria and
All Africa; Ignatius of Antioch; Theophilos of Jerusalem, as well as
Archbishops Chrysostomos of Cyprus, Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece,
Anastasios of Tirana, Christopher of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Leo
of Finland and Stephanos of Tallinn and Estonia. The Churches of
Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Poland are represented by
hierarchs.
[02] Greek bid to host World Mountain Rescue Con'f
A Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) delegation has presented its proposal to
host the next world conference on mountain rescue in Kalabaka, Trikala
prefecture of central Greece, in October 2010 or 2011. A candidacy
file, presented at the World Mountain Rescue Conference held in the
French Alpine city of Chamonix last week, included information on the
wider region and the 3rd Conference on Alpine rescue, hosted in
Kalabaka last May. Kalabaka lies beneath the Meteora rock formations.
[03] FM spokesman again comments on US visa waiver program
Foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos on Wednesday again
touched on Washington's failure to include Greece in the US visa waiver
program, when asked to comment on a Bush administration refusal to
fulfill Athens' long-standing request. Koumoutsakos pointed to a
previous foreign ministry statement on the subject, whereby "the Greek
side expresses a hope that this will not be an irreversible decision."
A statement issued afterwards by the US embassy noted that the process
is in progress, he added. Responding to a question on whether Greece's
exclusion from the visa waiver program qualifies as some sort of
"retribution" by the outgoing Bush administration for certain aspects
of the Greek foreign policy, Koumoutsakos repeated a statement by
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, namely, that Greece neither
comprehends nor accepts the application of pressure tactics between
allies.
[04] Spokesman on Cyprus issue
The foreign ministry on Wednesday described as a "positive initiative"
Cyprus President Demetris Christofias' decision to cancel the military
exercise code-named Nikiforos.
Foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos, in reply to press
questions, said that, judging from the result -- given that
Christofias' move was followed by a decision by the Turkish Cypriot
side to cancel its own "Toros" military exercises -- the Cyprus
President's decision was a "positive initiative" that "contributes to
the creation of an appropriate climate for enhancing the negotiations
effort for resolving the Cyprus issue".
Cyprus President Demetris Christofias announced on Monday his decision
to cancel "Nikiforos", the Cyprus' National Guard annual military
exercise while the Turkish Cypriot side announced late Monday its
decision to cancel the military exercise "Toros".
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