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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 98-06-02
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
News Update
Tuesday, 02/06/98
CONTENTS
- [01] Greek government makes protest demarche over "tendentious" report on
Cyprus
- [02] Tourists not averted from visiting Cyprus, say British authorities
- [03] Excavations at Politico-Phorades completed
[01] Greek government makes protest demarche over "tendentious" report on
Cyprus
The Greek ambassador to London, Vassilis Zafiropoulos, made a protest
demarche to the British Foreign Office yesterday. asking for clarification
to a "Sunday Times" report.
The report quoted official sources as saying that Britain plans to evacuate
its citizens from Cyprus in the event that war erupts on the island
following the installation of the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
Athens News Agency reported that in his demarche Mr. Zafiropoulos indicated
that such reports have a strong negative impact on the flourishing tourist
industry of both Greece and Cyprus and that they should not be used as
pressure levers on the Cyprus government to cancel the installation of the
missiles. Foreign Office officials reassured Mr. Zafiropoulos that there
has been no government involvement in the issue.
[02] Tourists not averted from visiting Cyprus, say British authorities
The British Foreign Office clarified yesterday that it sees no reason why
British tourists should not visit Cyprus.
The statement was made in response to the publication of an article in "The
Sunday Times" about a British contingency plan to airlift 250.000 people in
case of an eventual war in Cyprus if the S-300 missile system is deployed.
This was echoed by the British High Commissioner to Cyprus, David Madden,
who, according to the Cyprus News Agency, said yesterday: "We have not
changed our travel advice for people planning to come to Cyprus". Madden,
who was speaking after a meeting with Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides
disassociated efforts to solve the Cyprus issue with a government decision
to deploy the S-300 defence missile system and reiterated his country's
support for a political settlement in Cyprus.
[03] Excavations at Politico - Phorades completed
Another excavation season at Politico - Phorades was completed, the
Department of Antiquities announced yesterday. The excavations were carried
out by Dr. A. Bernard Knopp, M Donnelly of the University of Glasgow and
Dr. V. Kassianidou of the University of Cyprus. Phorades was a small copper-
smelting workshop. As in previous years, large quantities of slag were
recovered along with large fragments of furnace-lining. The slags recovered
are considered to be unique as is the furnace-lining. The slags consist of
large plano-concave slag cakes with a flat top surface, an estimated
diameter of 44 cm and an estimated weight of 15-20 kg.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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