The Bosnian Serbs were reported to be ready to release 58 UN peacekeepers last night and more later, following a successful Greek mediation bid by Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias.
"Our discussions (with Karadzic) were about the unconditional release of the hostages," Mr. Arsenis said shortly after returning to Athens last night from Pale and Belgrade where he and Mr. Papoulias held talks with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. "We shall have to wait and see, in the immediate future, the results of our efforts and the positions of Mr. Milosevic," he told reporters.
A report from the Belgrade news agency BETA said the hostages had been freed and were waiting in the Bosnian border town of Zvornik, about 80 kilometres Northeast of Sarajevo, presumably to be taken into Serbia.
Mr. Arsenis said he expected Mr. Karadzic to make an announcement on the issue within the day. Reports of an imminent release of hostages continued to be heard throughout the day yesterday. An Athens News Agency (ANA) report from Pale said Bosnian Serbs were expected to release more United Nations hostages yesterday afternoon.
Belgrade New Agency (BETA) later said 100 hostages would be released at Pale. The Bosnian Serbs released 121 hostages late last week. Asked whether Mr. Karadzic had accepted the unconditional release of the hostages, Mr. Arsenis replied that the unconditional release had been accepted by Mr. Milosevic and added that a release was gaining support in Pale.
The two ministers said they were "completely satisfied" with the results of their diplomatic mission to Pale and Belgrade to ease tension and achieve the immediate release of the hostages. Mr. Papoulias said the release of the hostages was extremely important for the continuation of the peace process. The two ministers added that their efforts focused on promoting the peace process within the framework of the Contact Group, as well as European Union resolutions and the results of the NATO foreign ministers meeting which opted for a political and diplomatic solution to the Bosnian crisis.
Mr. Arsenis said the talks he and Mr. Papoulias had in Pale and Belgrade could serve as the beginning for a new era, where Greece would be in a position to play an effective role in facilitating peace and stability in the region. He added that the talks also focused on developments in the region, saying that "the time is right for a further promotion of a politically viable solution to the Bosnian issue." "The release of the hostages would be an important contribution to the defusion of the crisis and the creation of better conditions for the consideration of political solutions," he told reporters. The two ministers are scheduled to brief Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou on the results of the talks today.
Earlier, after talks with Mr. Milosevic in Belgrade, Mr. Arsenis said he hoped the Greek intervention would result in satisfactory results. "We have conveyed to all parties the message that only liberation of all hostages would create a positive climate," Mr. Arsenis told reporters. "This point of view is shared by President Milosevic and is continuously gaining ground," he said.
The two ministers, however, refrained from announcing an imminent liberation of the hostages. "I am satisfied with the results of our efforts, but as you realise, I can not make any specific announcement on this sensitive issue," Mr. Arsenis said. He added that he would inform his NATO counterparts on the results of the talks in Pale and Belgrade tomorrow at a meeting of NATO defence ministers.
Mr. Papoulias told the press that "Greece is deploying efforts for the finding of a political and diplomatic solution to the problems in former Yugoslavia." He reiterated Greece's position in favour of the lifting of the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The two met in Belgrade with Mr. Milosevic after marathon all-night negotiations in the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale. The two ministers launched an unannounced peace initiative on Monday in a bid that included securing the release of 257 UN peacekeepers still held as hostages by Bosnian Serb forces to deter NATO strikes against Bosnian Serb targets.
After seven hours of talks with the Greek ministers, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said the Serbs were ready to accept a political, peaceful solution. "We would like every well-meaning government to assist us to overcome the crisis. The Greek government is well-intentioned and we consider its mediation essential for us to end the crisis," Mr. Karadzic said.
Mr. Karadzic said that the Greek Prime Minister, Andreas Papandreou, was being kept abreast of developments. Asked whether the two Greek ministers had given him guarantees that NATO air-strikes would not be continued, Mr. Karadzic replied: "We received guarantees of friendship."
In Athens, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos declined any comments "until the completion of the Greek (peace) initiative". US envoy Robert Frasure, representing the major powers' Contact Group, has been trying to clinch a deal that would ease crippling sanctions on rump Yugoslavia in return for Belgrade's recognition of Bosnia.
Recently-released official figures put Greece's inflation rate at 9.8 per cent for May this year, down from 9.9 the previous month, but National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said the rate was actually 9.6 per cent. "Inflation may appear to be running at 9.8 but the figure is fictitious, due to a tax on heating fuel which will be lifted in October," Mr. Papantoniou said during a visit to Iraklion, Crete.
The National Statistics Service (ESYE) said inflation was running at an annualised rate of 9.8 per cent in May, compared with 11 per cent and 16.4 per cent in May 1994 and 1993 respectively. In April, annual inflation fell below 10 per cent for the first time in 22 years.
"The Greek economy is regaining its lost credibility," Mr. Papantoniou said. Mr. Papantoniou said he was optimistic about the state's effort to revitalise the economy but added that "a long and difficult road" had to be travelled before the economy could be free of the current economic crisis. The albeit slight de-escalation of the inflation rate in May was an unexpected surprise, attributed to a 0.7 per cent increase in the cost of living index that month compared with a 0.8 per cent increase in May last year.
ESYE attributed the 0.7 per cent increase in the cost of living index to increases mainly in rents, heating oil, clothing, petrol, ship tickets and overseas airline fares, and decreases in the prices of foodstuffs and vegetables.
An announcement from Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's office stressed yesterday that Serbia and Greece had agreed that the speedy settlement of relations between Belgrade, Skopje, and Athens was of vital significance to stability in the Balkans.
The announcement was issued after talks between Mr. Milosevic and the Greek ministers of defence, Gerasimos Arsenis, and foreign affairs, Karolos Papoulias, which included the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). It is also stressed that the two countries have identical views on the resolution of the Yugoslav crisis through the search for political solutions and direct talks between the warring sides on an equitable basis.
Greece said yesterday its agreement to the establishment of a rapid reaction force in Bosnia did not constitute Greek involvement in the Bosnian crisis. "The government's agreement to the establishment of a rapid reaction force in Bosnia and possible participation of Greek military units to assist in the evacuation of Blue Berets from Bosnia, if such a decision is taken, do not constitute Greek involvement in the Bosnian crisis," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said at his regular briefing.
Replying to press questions, Mr. Venizelos clarified: "Greece's participation in international organisations is one thing and participation in military units operating on the spot is another."
An attempt by a Turkish parliamentary delegation to prevent Greece's accession to the Black Sea Economic Co-operation's Parliamentary Assembly as a full member has failed. The two-day fifth plenary session opened in Moscow yesterday.
The Turkish MPs, led by the Motherland Party's representative, used every procedural and political argument possible, stalled as much as possible, attempted to interrupt voting three times, threatened to withdraw and walked out with the exception of one, but without bending the determination of the overwhelming majority of the Parliamentary Assembly's member-states to accept Greece as a member.
The delegations of seven countries (Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania and Russia) voted in favour of Greece's accession, while the representatives of Azerbaijan and Turkey abstained.
Applauded by delegates, Greek delegation leader and PASOK deputy Nikos Akritidis took the floor after the vote, expressing Greece's deep satisfaction at the plenary's decision and stressing that Athens would do all in its power to support Black Sea economic co-operation in every way, including backing for special activities in the region by the European Union.
Speaking to Greek journalists afterwards, Mr. Akritidis termed the Turkish MPs' attitude "negative" and inspired by elements of "nationalist intolerance."
New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert will visit Bulgaria tomorrow for talks with the country's leadership, press sources said yesterday. Mr. Evert is to attend a party meeting in Delphi on Sunday, which will discuss the party's positions on the European Union intergovernmental conference to be held next year.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced yesterday it will provide 8.15 million Ecu (2.5 billion dr.) for the restoration of Mount Athos monasteries. The loan will allow for the coverage of 85 per cent of investments required for the monasteries' restoration. Out of the amount, 3.68 million Ecu will be provided for the Iviron monastery, 1.83 million Ecu for the Stavronikita monastery, 890,000 Ecu for the Simonos Petra monastery and 1.74 million Ecu for monasteries in Ormylia.
The Health Ministry has spent 34 billion drachmas on hospital equipment and hired 10,000 hospital staff over the last two years, Health, Welfare and Social Security Minister Dimitris Kremastinos told a press conference in Thessaloniki yesterday. He said the new draft bill on health will be released as soon as the necessary funds have been secured, expected towards the end of the month.
Concerning requests by Albania and Serbia for the dispatch of an anti-cancer unit and kidney specialists respectively, he said this "was being planned in conjunction with the setting up of trans-border public health units".
He described the campaign against AIDS as a serious effort to inform the public, and thanked the mass media for their co-operation and television channels, in particular, for the granting of free time. He added that the incidence of AIDS in Greece was relatively low, but that this should not relax efforts.
Prospects, as ascertained during the recent EU Health Ministers' Council, were optimistic, he said, as it is expected that medicines delaying the manifestation of the illness will have been discovered by the year 2000. Even more optimistic forecasts envisage the discovery of medicines that will prevent the manifestation of the illness altogether, with carriers remaining only carriers.
During a special event which Mr. Kremastinos attended, the Thessaloniki Central Hospital was renamed after former health minister Giorgos Gennimatas.
Press Minister Evangelos Venizelos has described the passing of the bill on the mass media as an urgent matter, adding that the government will consider the exact time for the relevant debate in Parliament. First reactions from parties, he said, tend to holding the debate over the summer, when the plenum is not in session.
Communist Party of Greece (KKE) parliamentary group chairman, Dimitris Costopoulos, however, yesterday said he was opposed to this possibility, saying such an important bill had to be considered by the plenum and the people informed in full.
The Coalition of the Left and Progress, which is not represented in parliament, described the bill as especially crucial, and proposed a special plenary session for the debate during the summer.
Commenting on the bill, the Association for the Protection of Television Viewers said that, despite its positive elements, "it perpetuated the mesh of business interests in the present property regime". It called for additional provisions designed to exclude loopholes regarding the stipulation that shares in television channels be nominal, that 51 per cent of their equity capital belong to Greek citizens and that the role of the National Radio and Television Council be upgraded from the envisaged status of a merely consultative body concerning licences into an independent administrative authority.
Former US president George Bush arrives in Thessaloniki on Sunday to inaugurate the Northern Greek branch of Eurobank, owned by Greek shipping and oil tycoon Yannis Latsis' corporate group. While in the Macedonian capital, Mr. Bush will deliver a speech on "A Glance at the World Today" at the inauguration of a new conference centre at the Thessaloniki International Fairgrounds (TIF) on Sunday night, during a forum organised by Eurobank. On Monday he will begin a 12-day cruise of the Aegean on Mr. Latsis' yacht "Alexander".
The 1996 intergovernmental conference to review the Maastricht Treaty should focus on solutions to the issues of unemployment and the common foreign defence and security policy, the European Socialists argued at a conference in Brussels. The Eurosocialists will also consider these issues during a meeting in Cannes, a few days before European Union leaders gather for their regular summit, set to start June 26.
"The intergovernmental conference should give clear answers to the issues of development and employment," secretary of the Central Committee of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), and Vice-President of the European Socialist Party Akis Tsohatzopoulos said at the close of yesterday's session of the European Socialists Presidium meeting in Brussels to draft the agenda for the Cannes meeting.
The Eurosocialists also discussed the issue of former Yugoslavia. Speaking on behalf of the European Socialist Party, Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said efforts were being directed to the release and safety of the Blue Berets, which was "the first priority, for all of us". "This is what we are focusing our efforts on, so that a political solution to the crisis may be achieved. A political solution is the only solution," he said.
The first European cordless telephones are being tested at the National Research and Natural Sciences Centre 'Democritus' and will soon be introduced to the market. The Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications has set up one of the two experimental laboratories for the new technology (DECT) in the European Union at Democritus, the other laboratory being set up in Denmark.
The European cordless telephone is superior technologically and in terms of services offered to mobile telephones, an expert at Democritus said yesterday. It can be operated anywhere near inhabited areas, has a superior voice quality, can be used as a wireless telephone centre, is capable of transferring data and is not hazardous to health.
Kazakhstan has shown interest in a planned oil pipeline from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to Alexandroupolis in Greece as a prospective outlet for its own oil, informed sources said yesterday.
Russia, Bulgaria and Greece are currently negotiating a route carrying oil by tanker from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossyisk to Burgas and then pumped overland by pipeline to Alexandroupolis in northern Greece.
"Kazakhstan has not yet decided the routes for the export of its oil, but considers as useful the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline," Kazakhstan's Alternate Minister for Petrol Uzakbey Karabalin told Greece's Ambassador to Moscow, who is also accredited to Kazakhstan. The two men met on the sidelines of a Greek-Kazakhstani business symposium in Alma Ata, organised by the Greek Embassy in Moscow and the Association of Greek Businessmen in Russia. A number of Greek companies, dealing mainly in furs and beverages, are already established in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.
The same sources said the Kazakhstan minister of constructions urged Greek cement and pipe manufacturers to take part in construction projects and in the modernisation of Kazakhstan's cement industry.
Talks between Greece and Ukraine on transporting passengers and goods started at the Transport and Communications Ministry yesterday and will conclude tomorrow. The Greek delegation is headed by Transport and Communications Under-Secretary Christos Kokkinovassilis and the Ukrainian by Ukrainian Transport Under-Secretary Vitaly M. Reva.
On the question of passenger transport, the two countries are oriented towards activating regular and special lines, while for the transport of goods consideration is being given to providing the possibility of transporting goods between the two countries as well as transit transport.
An Industry Ministry committee has earmarked 66 billion drachmas for investment in infrastructure works under the Industrial Operational Programme, Alternate Industry Minister Christos Rokofyllos said yesterday. The committee is also examining investment projects worth 300 billion drachmas and others worth 22 billion drachmas, jointly funded by the European Union and the Industry Ministry.
Projects to be funded include the Athens International Goods Centre creating storage and parking facilities for containers in Magoula, Attica. Another project involves the creation of an exhibition and convention centre in Athens by Helexpo.