Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-10-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece on Syria, Lebanon

[02] Illegal immigrants off Lesvos

[01] Greece on Syria, Lebanon

According to a foreign ministry press release, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said:

"Greece hails the establishment of diplomatic ties between Syria and Lebanon. This decision constitutes an important positive development for the normalisation of relations between the two countries, as well as for the stability in the region.

"Greece, along with its partners in the European Union, will continue to actively support and with consistency the efforts for the further improvement of Syrian-Lebanese relations and the restoration of a climate of mutual trust, to the benefit of peace, cooperation and prosperity of the two peoples, with which it maintains strong historic bonds of friendship."

[02] Illegal immigrants off Lesvos

In all four instances, authorities said the illegals, all of whom were identified as hailing from Third World countries, had disembarked from the opposite Turkish coast.

In one instance, off a sea region known as "Tomaronissia", a 34-year-old man amongst the illegals was charged as a migrant smuggler, as he piloted the wooden craft loaded with 21 individuals.

In the other three instances, the separate groups of illegal migrants destroyed the inflatable dinghies transporting them upon sighting Greek territory, a more-or-less "modus operandi" used to prevent Greek authorities from forcing their craft back into Turkish waters.

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