Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-04-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] Inner Cabinet takes final decisions ahead of NATO summit

[01] Inner Cabinet takes final decisions ahead of NATO summit

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis that the Inner Cabinet session was held in preparation of the NATO summit, adding that all the facts were analysed and the final decisions taken.

Replying to questions on the Greek positions and prospect of Greece vetoing a NATO invitation for membership to FYROM, Bakoyannis said that Greece's positions were well-known and on record, and had also been stated in parliament and to all the political party leaders.

She said that the Greek government "is commencing this difficult process, having the country's political forces, in their entirety, at its side, with the same goals and the same prerequisites".

Meanwhile, replying to press questions earlier, environment, town planning and public works minister George Souflias said that the effort for finding a viable and mutually acceptable solution to the FYROM name issue "cannot be one-sided, in other words only by Greece".

"Greece, I believe, has done everything possible for a mutually acceptable and viable solution to be found. But there are boundaries that cannot be exceeded," Souflias said, adding that "we have reached the 'red line', and from here on we cannot make any other efforts".

In a separate statement, ruling New Democracy (ND) former leader Miltiades Evert stressed that "at the tiime when efforts are being made for finding a compromise solution to the Skopje name issue, the neighboring people of Skopje are provoking in the most unethical way, offending ournational symbol and our country's prime minister with montaged pictures, disregarding Greece's sacrifices and struggles against nazism".

With this attitude, he warned, the people of FYROM "reveal that they are not mature (ready) to accede NATO and the European Union".

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