US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke said yesterday that relations between Greece and Turkey would remain troubled as long as the Cyprus issue remained unresolved.
"Greece and Turkey can not have a healthy relation unless a solution is first found for the Cyprus problem," Mr. Holbrooke told reporters in Ankara. He said the Cyprus issue had been discussed with Turkish officials. "The US Administration is determined to work side by side with Greece and Turkey, and the representatives of the two communities on the island (of Cyprus), to find a solution to the problem in the direction of a federation," he said.
Mr. Holbrooke said Greece and Turkey were equally important in the framework of NATO, adding that there was instability in Turkey and "wider instability in the region."
Referring to Turkey's invasion of northern Iraq to harness Kurdish rebels, US Deputy Secretary of State and head of the US delegation visiting Turkey, Strobe Talbott, said: "We attach great importance to the guarantees given by the Turkish government that the operation will be limited in scope and duration."
Replying to a press question, Mr. Talbott said the US had never said it supported the creation of an independent Kurdish state, adding that Washington supports the territorial integrity and independence of all countries in the region. "We believe that the rights of the Kurdish people should be respected in their countries of residence since this will in the long term affect the security and stability of those countries," he said.
Meanwhile in Athens, more than 80 deputies, the majority of them from the ruling PASOK party, yesterday requested that the government veto the European Union-Turkey customs union agreement.
Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said the deputies were expressing their own views and sensitivities and that the government remained firm in its foreign policy. "International public opinion and the parliamentary bodies on a European and world level have expressed a justifiable sensitivity at Turkey's incursion into Iraq and the violation of human rights," Mr. Venizelos said. "I believe the initiative of the Greek deputies falls under the same spirit," he said. "But the government is firm in its positions."
Main opposition New Democracy party spokesman Vassilis Manginas later said Mr. Venizelos was being "ridiculously evasive" in his statements. "The spectacle of a government falling silent while 73 PASOK deputies sling mud at it goes beyond every limit," Mr. Manginas said.
In March Greece announced it had lifted its veto and agreed to sign a provisional deal agreed by senior European Union officials on a landmark customs union pact between the 15-member bloc and Turkey. Greece made the statement following tough negotiations with the French presidency to improve four points of the customs deal which Athens considered "dis-advantageous," including a firmer EU commitment on opening accession talks between Cyprus and the E U. According to the commitment, accession talks will start six months after the 1996 intergovernmental conference to revise the Maastricht treaty.
German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe ended his two-day private visit to northern Greece yesterday by visiting the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki where artifacts from the Macedonian royal tombs in Vergina are on display. Greek Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis, who accompanied his German counterpart, reminded reporters that the visit was of a private nature.
Undeterred by the remark, reporters asked Mr. Ruehe to comment on the Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, Turkey's customs union with the European Union and the visit German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel paid to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Referring to the first two issues, Mr. Ruehe said his country had already stated its position, adding that he had not been briefed on Mr. Kinkel's visit.
Mr. Ruehe and Mr. Arsenis stayed at the Iviron Monastery on Tuesday night and visited Stavronikitas Monastery and the Mylopotamos cell yesterday morning. They returned to Karyes afterwards and visited the Athoniada Academy. Mr. Arsenis gave a luncheon in honour of Mr. Ruehe at the officers' mess in Thessaloniki at noon. The visit to the Archaeological Museum was paid at Mr. Ruehe's request.
Eduard Selami, the president of the Albanian Parliament, is heading a delegation expected in Athens last night for talks with Greek government officials on Greek-Albanian relations. Mr. Selami will have a meeting today with his Greek counterpart, Apostolos Kaklamanis. The Albanian delegation will also have a meeting with president of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs, Eleftherios Veryvakis.
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos yesterday received the credentials of the new Panamanian, Italian and Korean ambassadors. The ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and Secretary-General to the Prime Minister's Office, Ambassador Emmanuel Gikas.
Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) pact foreign ministers will be asked to grant observer status to Italy and Austria during a meeting in Athens tomorrow. The three-day BSEC meeting, which opened in the seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni yesterday, comprises two days of consultations between senior officials of member-countries leading up to tomorrow's session of foreign ministers which will be chaired by Greece's Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, whose country currently holds the group's rotating presidency.
The BSEC pact, signed in 1992, groups together Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine and observer-status countries Egypt, Israel, Poland, Slovenia and Tunisia.
The senior officials will examine ways of advancing economic co-operation among the grouping, and final decisions will be taken tomorrow by the foreign ministers.
Yesterday's morning session focused on advancing co-operation among the academic and research sectors of the member countries. A Greek proposal for the establishment of a Black Sea Research Centre for the purpose of promoting regional co-operation was well-received. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou will address a greeting to the delegations tonight at a dinner hosted in their honour by Mr. Papoulias. Tomorrow, President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos will briefly address the delegates and later meet with the foreign ministers.
A Final Report will be adopted tomorrow by the foreign ministers, who are scheduled to give a press conference at 7:00 pm after the conclusion of their discussions. Yesterday, senior officials of the 11 member-states were briefed by the Greek side on the progress achieved in setting up the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, based in Thessaloniki. It was announced that the European Commission has financed the business plan for the bank with 250,000 Ecu, but the finding of additional funds seems to be relatively difficult at present.
The BSEC international secretariat and its parliamentary convention appealed to member states to speed up ratification of the draft plan for the bank by national parliaments. It was announced that Ukraine, Turkey, and Azerbaijan are in the final stage o f ratification. During discussions, an appeal was also made to Turkey to speed up the appointment of a governor of the bank, and to member states to appoint one member each to the board of governors.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu is expected to arrive in Athens tomorrow at the head of a delegation to participate in the meeting. He is expected to meet with Mr. Papoulias on the sidelines of the meeting. ANA
An olive branch, a white cross and the ancient goddess Athena compose a new emblem to adorn the Greek capital, Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos said yesterday. "After 161 years, Athens has attained its own symbol in the form of a flag and emblem," Mr. Avramopoulos said. He made the statement after the Athens City Council unanimously approved the design.
The New Democracy Executive and Central Committees met in succession yesterday to tackle party organisational matters. The Executive Committee was also briefed by the party's youth organisation (ONNED) president Euripides Stylianides on the results of the recent student elections, which party leader Miltiades Evert described as especially satisfactory.
Mr. Evert renewed his attacks on the prime minister, accusing him of being "unable to co-ordinate the government's work", and as "non-existent". He also criticised the government as a whole for a total lack of public works, for mistaken decisions in economic policy, for incompetence during Greece's six-month term in the European Union presidency last year, and for a refusal to engage in dialogue with various social groups. He claimed that final European Union approval of commencement of the new Spata airport project had been the result of his personal intervention in Brussels.
Referring to recent mobilisations of various groups, he reiterated that New Democracy had not encouraged them, "but had the obligation to be near social groups when they had just claims". On this issue, former culture minister Dora Bakoyianni said New Democracy "should not indiscriminately adopt the demands of social groups, as we will find them in front of us when we come to power".
Speaking to the Central Committee, Mr. Evert also lashed out at Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras, because "with his stand on the occasion of the presidential election he salvaged the government, and, indeed, without setting any term or condition so that (the government) might be forced to change its policy".
In reply to Mr. Evert's charges, a Political Spring party statement said, "in view of what Mr. Evert has to put up with in his party, we understand why he says what he says".
A top Bulgarian energy official said yesterday that his country wanted to keep safety levels at the Kozloduy nuclear plant in line with international standards. The Vice-President of Bulgaria's Energy Chamber and member of the Bulgarian Parliament's Energy Committee, Simon Bator, made the statement to reporters on the sidelines of a two-day meeting on energy in Thessaloniki.
Another participant in the meeting, Ivan Sotirov, member of the Bulgarian Energy Ministry's Energy Committee, said that a safety programme was being implemented at Kozloduy which was being monitored by Bulgarian scientists and international committees.
Kozloduy, which supplies between 30 and 40 per cent of Bulgaria's total energy needs, has four 440 megawatt reactors and a further two modern 1000 megawatt reactors. Scientists have voiced concern about the plant's continued operation, saying that the reactors are antiquated and unsafe.
The plant's two oldest 400-megawatt reactors were closed in 1991 after international criticism over their safety. One was restarted in early 1993 and the second later the same year after repairs and improvements financed by the European Union.
Mr. Sotirov said that Bulgaria, which imports 75 per cent of its energy needs, was turning towards domestic lignite and the more efficient exploitation of natural gas from the former Soviet Union. Bulgaria, he added, was ready for any form of co-operation in the energy sector with neighbouring countries, including Greece.
The annual meeting of the Union of Greek Banks (EET) took place at the Grande Bretagne hotel yesterday. EET president and National Bank of Greece Governor George Mirkos referred in his speech to developments in the international banking system and modernisation trends in the domestic banking market.
Referring specifically to the possibilities for a further reduction in interest rates, he said this depended, on one hand, on fiscal and monetary policy, and on the other, on the correction of chronic problems in the banking markets. Further deregulation, modernisation, and improvement in the competitive structure of the market touched upon issues such as the need to reduce compulsory commercial bank deposits with the central bank, and the removal of certain legal, accounting, and tax imperfections permeating the operation of the market for financial products, he said.
Summing up the main developments in the Greek banking system in the last 12 months, Mr. Mirkos underscored the significance of the successful exit from the monetary crisis in May, and the effective co-ordination of the banks with the monetary authorities. The success in defending the currency was important not only on account of averting devaluation, but also for signalling the resolve of the part of the government and the banks to function in such a way as to deter speculation in future, too, he said .
Industrial peace had been achi-eved through the signing of a two-year collective bargaining agreement between the banks and the banking employees union (OTOE), he added.
In 1995, EET would promote important initiatives of immediate application in the framework of regulations governing the operation of financial markets. Issues of top priority were the working out and application of ethics codes for banking products, the preparation of proposals by the Treasurers' Committee for improvements in the functioning of foreign exchange markets, and the full application of a national payments system.
Union of Greek Banks (EET) President and Governor of the National Bank of Greece George Mirkos announced yesterday that a conference of governors of the main credit institutions in the Middle East and representatives of international organisations will be held in Athens in October.
Speaking at the EET's General Assembly, Mr. Mirkos said the conference would be organised by the EET in co-operation with the UN's Industrial Development Organisation. The conference will focus on promoting co-operation between credit institutions in Middle East countries and examining the possibilities of a more effective operation of intermediate funding agencies and mechanisms to back business initiatives.
Mr. Mirkos also said the EET would participate in preparations for the international religious conference entitled "Apocalypse and natural environment 95-1995 A.D." to be held on the island of Patmos in September. The conference, sponsored by Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, will be held on the occasion of the 1,900th anniversary of the Apocalypse being written by Ioannis Theologos on Patmos.
Mr. Mirkos said the EET would contribute to the restoration and maintenance of the historic Agia Lavra Monastery while funding for the building of the Orthodox Cathedral in Korytsa was proceeding.