Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-09-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek FM expresses Athens' concerns over E. Med developments

[02] Moody's downgrades eight Greek banks

[01] Greek FM expresses Athens' concerns over E. Med developments

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AMNA (NEW YORK CITY) -- Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis late Saturday expressed Athens' concern over what he called Ankara's "threats and hostile actions against the Republic of Cyprus, speaking from the podium at the 66th UN General Assembly.

Lambrinidis sternly condemned what he called Turkey's hostile "rhetoric" and reiterated Greece's support for the UN-brokered peace process to unify the island republic.

He further juxtaposed Turkey's polemics with Athens' stance, stressing the latter's commitment to exploratory talks with Turkey on the issue of delineating the Aegean's continental shelf, adding however, that in case Turkish leadership decides against cooperation, then the issue should be referred to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Turning to developments in the wider region, Lambrinidis expressed (AMNA) Greece's complete support for the "Arab Spring" and what he said was the "rights of peoples" for democracy and a better life, touching particularly on Greek actions vis-a-vis the recent conflict in Libya, such as the evacuation of thousands of third country nationals from the North Africa country, support of the NATO 'no fly' decision and a continuous Greek diplomatic presence in Benghazi.

Regarding the timely issue of the Palestinian Authority's request for recognition of independence by the UN body -- a matter that dominated the limelight at the 66th General Assembly -- Lambrinidis repeated Greek policy in support of Palestinians' right to their own nation, as well as in their right to petition for such recognition. AMNA

[02] Moody's downgrades eight Greek banks

Moody's downgraded National Bank of Greece (NBG), EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE) and Attica Bank from B3 to Caa2, and Emporiki Bank and General Bank of Greece (Geniki) to B3 from B1.amna

The rationale for the downgrading included a substantial deterioration of the domestic economy and the above credit institutions' exposure to Greek government bonds.amna

Moody's also said that although the recently announced merger of Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank Ergasias has some potential positive elements for the credit standing of the future joint entity (that will result from the merger, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2011), Moody's believes that these are offset by the currently fragile operating environment. AMNA

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