"The Iraqi people must, with the aid of the international community and the active participation of the UN, soon take the fortune of their country into their hands, and work in conditions of peace and reconciliation for its own progress and prosperity", concluded the Foreign Minister.

"It is now time to strengthen the developments for the restoration of democracy and self-determination of the Iraqi people", stated Government Spokesperson Christos Protopapas, on Saddam's capture, which, as he added, marks the end to a story that has to rmented the Iraqi people and the whole world.

hearings. Mr. Ragousis pointed out that Chr. Xeros asked for no leniency, while he encouraged the judges to use all their severity. Equity was asked for V. Xeros and V. Georgiadis.

Mr. Giannitsis characterized the arrest of Saddam Hussein as an important development, however he stressed that Iraq would calm down "when things become stable".

Regarding the statements of Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou on the issue of succession within PASOK, Mr. Giannitsis stressed that he "stated the obvious", while on the Cyprus issue, following yesterday's "elections" in occupied Cyprus, he said that t he key for developments now rests in Ankara's hands.

As far as developments concerning the joint European Constitution are concerned, the alternate Foreign Minister appreciated that if the new effort by the Irish Presidency is not helped to succeed before to the Euro elections in June and after the Spanish

elections in May, then Europe will have a problem.

will sign the Olympic Truce.

Mr. Assad arrived at the El. Venizelos airport in Athens yesterday, where he was greeted by Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou. At 11:45 he laid a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and then met with President of the Parliament Apostolos Kakl amanlis who then presented the Syrian President with the Gold Medal of the Greek Parliament. Mr. Assad will now participate in the Opening Meeting of the Greece-Syria Business Council.

Tonight, the Syrian President will attend a dinner in his honor held by the President of the Republic.

Tomorrow morning Mr. Assad will meet with the Secretary General of the Greek Communist Party, Aleka Papariga, and the President of the Coalition of the Left, Nikos Constantopoulos. After his meeting he will then go to the Foreign Ministry, where at 12 no on, he will sign the Olympic Truce.

At 16:00 he will meet with the President of New Democracy, Costas Karamanlis, and then go to the Athens City Hall, where he will meet with Mayor Dora Bakoyanni, who will award him with the Golden Medal of the city.

At 20:30 that night, Mr. Assad will have a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis at the Maximos Mansion, to be followed by statements to the press. Mr. Simitis will hold a working dinner for Mr. Assad after the press conference.

Mr. Assad's visit will be completed on Wednesday morning.

In the meeting participated Thessaloniki Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos, Mayor of Sofia Stefan Sofianski, Skopje Mayor Pisto Penov and Piraeus City Council President Konstantinos Gaveras.

The package includes the exploitation of European programs, the exploitation of the Greek Plan for the Reconstruction of the Balkans at city level, and the forging of relations at cultural level.

Mr. Papageorgopoulos issued an appeal to the mayors of all the major Balkan cities to be in Thessaloniki on August 11 on the occasion of the opening of the Olympic football tournament.

Also, all the Balkan cities will unite their forces for an international university to open in Thessaloniki, while in 2004 a Newsletter will be issued every four months to present the network's activities, its bodies, decisions and initiatives. Also, the

network will have its own website on the Internet.

Of the stocks trading today, 232 recorded losses and 78 had gains, while the value of 72 stocks remained unchanged.

The fact that inflationary pressures were maintained at August's level is attributed, among others, to the price hikes in certain fruit and vegetables and the increases in the cost of services.

According to information, December's inflation will be announced on January 9, 2004. However, the average inflation for 2003 will be announced in early February 2004 and speculations on October and November 2003 will be ready by then as well.

Mr. Protopapas also stated that Prime Minister Kostas Simitis has already sent a telegram to US President George Bush on the issue.

Mr. Protopapas stated that it is a message of peace and reconciliation and a message that underlines the necessity of initiatives that will lead to the reunification of the island.

The government spokesman stated that based on the election outcome, Turkey can now undertake the necessary initiatives by changing its policy for negotiations to get underway based on the Annan Plan for a solution to be found in Cyprus based on the UN re solutions.

Particularly, they discussed Syria's proposal for the elimination of the weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

The Syrian President stated that Greece is the "gate" to Europe for all the countries in the Middle East, while he characterized as "fair and objective" Greece's positions concerning the region.

Mr. Stephanopoulos and Mr. al-Assad also discussed issues concerning bilateral relations in the sectors of economic cooperation, tourism and transportation.

Earlier, the Syrian President had laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier Monument and then he had a meeting with Greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis.

In the meeting with Mr. Kakalmanis the issues discussed were the developments in the Middle East, especially after the arrest of Saddam Hussein, and bilateral relations.

Mr. Kaklamanis stated that the restoration of stability and security in the region presupposes the solution of problems such as, the Palestinian problem, while he also stressed that the UN has to return to its role as it is defined in its charter.

The Syrian President briefed Mr. Kaklamanis on his country's positions against international terrorism expressing the view that with Saddam Hussein's arrest it will be proved that he had nothing to do with the Iraqi resistance.

Responding to a question by a reporter, if he believes that Syria could be the next US target after Iraq, the Syrian President stated that Syria is not Iraq, adding that his country has relations with all the countries in the world. He stated that Syria plays an active role in international politics, especially in the efforts against international terrorism, and has good relations with the EU, therefore, there are no similarities with Iraq.

On the arrest of Saddam Hussein, the Greek Prime Minister stated that it is a positive development that creates the preconditions for the democratic reorganization of Iraq.

On the EU Summit meeting in Brussels, he stressed that the disagreement on the European Constitution is indicative of the different views in the European countries. However, he underlined the need for Europe to take very specific decisions on the course of the economy, the defense and foreign policy and on the effort to limit inequalities.

On the developments in Cyprus, the Greek Prime Minister commented that the people living in the Turkish occupied territories want the solution of the Cyprus issue and called on Turkey to act toward this direction facilitating, this way, its European cour se. On his part, the British Prime Minister stated that he is willing to exert pressures for the solution of the problem.

Also, Mr. Simitis proposed to Mr. Blair that Greece and Britain could hold the exhibition of the Parthenon Marbles together and pointed out that Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos will visit London for talks on the issue with his British counterpart.

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