Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] Simple proportional representation will be a law from tonight, Gerovasili says

[02] Archaeologists shed further light on Despotiko's archaic-era Apollo sanctuary

[03] Greece to apply to participate in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

[01] Simple proportional representation will be a law from tonight, Gerovasili says

The result could not be considered a government failure, she pointed out, especially when it was passed by a much greater majority than the 153 MPs supporting the ruling coalition.

"It had, of course, been our intention to open the way for a progressive reform and we had believed that would be possible given the positions of principle expressed by the other parties of the opposition," she said, referring especially to PASOK and its recent positions in favour of simple proportional representation, without the 50-seat bonus for the first party.

While the Potami party had come out in favour of a bonus from the start, "what is happening today is a major retreat for a political formation that wants to belong to the progressive orientation," she added about PASOK, noting that the party appeared to be "lashed to New Democracy's chariot".

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will announce the main directions for revising the constitution on Monday, opening up the debate on this issue, Gerovasili said.

Commenting on a call by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew for an agreement on debt relief for Greece, the spokeswoman agreed that Lew was helping take the discussion forward and agreed that a restructuring of the debt was now more crucial than ever, given the destabilisation in region. There were now also voices in European countries and from institutional factors that saw a need for debt restructuring, she added.

Regarding the eight Turkish military officers that landed in Alexandroupolis, Gerovasili said the government's position had been steadfast from the start. While Turkey's demand for their extradition was understandable, "the Greek side will obviously follow all the procedures foreseen under Greek and international law," she said.

"The decisions will be taken by the Asylum Commission and by the judges, both in the discussion about extradition and the discussion about deportation due to illegal entry into the country," Gerovasili added. "All this will be considered together by the judges, primarily. On our side, we can also talk politically, of course..." she said.

She noted that relations with Turkey were very important for Greece, especially now when the two countries and the EU were implementing the agreement on the refugee and migrant crisis, during crucial and very sensitive times.

[02] Archaeologists shed further light on Despotiko's archaic-era Apollo sanctuary

Presenting the findings of the archaeological dig and restoration carried out on the island since May 30, the ministry said they included a large number of plain and decorated dedicative pottery shards dating from the 9th to 4th centuries B.C. as well as a host of other artifacts.

These include more than 40 lamps, 25 bases of vessels with the name of Apollo engraved on them, an engraved shard depicting one of the labours of Hercules, archaic black-figure drinking cups with images of warriors, red-figure kraters from a classical-era Attica workshop depicting Dionysus, satyrs and maenads, bronze buckles and the lower limbs of archaic kouroi, to name but a few.

The finds added each year since the excavation began in 1997 confirm that the Apollo sanctuary on Despotiko was the largest in the Cyclades area after Delos. The large number of visitors resulted in constant modifications and expansions of the site until the late classical era, while its peak is dated at around the 6th century B.C. and the earliest signs of worship date back to the geometric period.

A total of 15 buildings ancillary to the temple and ritual dining hall have been discovered so far.

[03] Greece to apply to participate in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

In a press release, Dragasakis' office said the decision was part of the government's "general strategy to develop collaboration with international collective investment institutions, with the aim of security financing for high-added value investment plans."

Greece's official request to participate in the AIIB will be submitted by the finance ministry in August, with Prof. Panagiotis Roumeliotis acting as the negotiator and representative of the Greek side, the press release said.

Nearly all Asian countries and 17 European countries, as well as states on other continents, participate in the AIIB, which is empowered to finance projects in the region of Asia or projects on other continents that help link them with Asia. It will be able to finance projects by Greek companies in the Middle East, China and the rest of Asia, as well as projects in Greece carried out by companies based in Asian countries.

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