The government said yesterday that the recent developments in Greece's dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) gave cause for "relative optimism".
Calling Monday's announcement that Greece and FYROM had agreed to initiate dialogue "important", government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos added that Greece's position on the Skopje issue remained firm, adding that Greek retorsion measures (imposed on it s neighbor to force it change its name, ancient Greek symbols on its flag, and its constitution) will be lifted when Skopje gives concrete evidence of its goodwill in regard to the constitution and symbols issues.
Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) agreed on Monday to send their foreign ministers to New York next week to conclude an agreement which would take the first important steps toward establishing the basis for friendly relations between the two neighboring countries.
Mr. Venizelos noted that the trade sanctions would still be in effect while the government was entering negotiations with Skopje and added that the government had never linked the lifting of the trade sanctions and the solution to the name of the neighboring state, which he said, remains "a big, pending issue."
The spokesman did not rule out the possibility of Greece recognizing Skopje under the name of "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."
He reserved further comment on the name until negotiations at the UN got underway
The spokesman also expressed the government's satisfaction at the "responsible and international political move" by Skopje President Kiro Gligorov.
Asked whether the government would convene a Political Leaders' Council meeting, Mr. Venizelos said the government had never ruled out the possibility of convening such a meeting if that was deemed necessary.
He said, however, the government was acting in the framework of positions which had been previously agreed upon by a previous council chaired by former president Constantine Karamanlis.
National Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis yesterday welcomed the decision by Greece and FYROM to open a dialogue in New York next week and said prospects for a settlement were very good.
"The development is very positive on this issue. I believe that the prospects now on this issue are very good," Mr. Arsenis told reporters after talks with visiting Romanian Defense Undersecretary Dumitru Cioflina.
Mr. Arsenis declined to comment on demands by one of the opposition parties to reconvene the political party leaders to discuss the development.
President Kostis Stephanopoulos told reporters the recent developments were "expected and positive", shortly before talks with Mikhail Gorbachev on recent international developments and the situation in the Balkans.
The Executive Bureau of the ruling PASOK party characterized the recent developments as positive, after it convened yesterday.
A statement said the party's executive agreed in full with the government's handling of the situation.
Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert said he favored a simultaneous resolution of both the Skopje and Yugoslav disputes:
"The moment the (UN) embargo against Serbia is lifted, as long as agreement is achieved for a peaceful solution, the Greek embargo (on Skopje) will automatically lose its strength, therefore both issues should be solved simultaneously."
"The government has announced that it was embarking on secret diplomacy (therefore) I do not know what the latest developments are. Our firm position is that the issue is resolved in the United Nations..."
According to sources close to New Democracy party headquarters, Mr. Evert has expressed his displeasure over statements by President Stephanopoulos on the Skopje issue, considered as convergent with government views, and being, thereby, inconsistent wit h his mediatory role in a possible party leaders' meeting under his chairmanship.
The most virulent opponent of the recent development, Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras, said the move to enter talks was based on "mistaken assumptions".
"The US assumption that Skopje can constitute a stabilizing factor in the region is a terrible mistake," he said in address to an official lunch, in the framework of the Athens Meeting.
"Any solution based on this assumption does not only harm Greek interests, but forms conditions of constant instability in the region," he added.
"The acceptance by the government, of the American mediation for the convening of direct talks with Skopje, constitutes an act of inconsistency with everything the government has committed to do before the Greek people, and violates directly the content of the 1992 Political Leaders Council decision,"
In his address, entitled "civil freedoms and economic welfare," Mr. Samaras said that the big power assumption that Turkey was a bulwark to the spreading of Islamic fundamentalism was mistaken, "especially when Turkey itself uses this to exercise its peculiar imperialism and to implement its territorial designs."
The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) said that next week's talks would not have a positive outcome.
"Under the auspices of the United States and Germany's vigilant eye, there are no good prospects for the real and correct settlement of the problem which have arisen with the neighboring country," a statement read.
The KKE believes that the government should go ahead with immediate negotiations with Skopje without mediators and referees and with the parallel lifting of the embargo.
Former premier and honorary president of the main opposition Constantine Mitsotakis said he had serious reservations regarding developments in the Skopje issue, adding that the case "will remain an open wound."
"I've tried in vain for two years to persuade the government, the political parties and the Greek people that the issue of Skopje should be dealt with responsibility and bravery upon the appropriate basis which we formed in May 1993," Mr. Mitsotakis said.
"Today we ended up, under extreme pressure by not just the Americans but the whole international community, to choose a solution of extreme 'ostrich' policy," he added.
"The change of the name 'Macedonia' is postponed indefinitely and it is obvious that the name 'Republic of Macedonia' will prevail," he said.
PASOK Eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis said the recent developments were positive.
"I believe it is a very positive development," he told reporters. "The meeting next week at the United Nations will lead to a solution regarding the 'small package.' But the 'small package' will not be the end of the road. A solution should also be pursued through dialogue on the issue of the name."
Former PASOK minister, deputy Theodoros Pangalos said he was justified by developments on the Skopje issue.
"We have arrived anew to the point which we were at four years ago," he said.
In Thessaloniki, former minister Stelios Papathemelis said he was reserved and anxious regarding the expediency of the procedure now beginning in the Skopje issue.
"It is clear that the major and substantial issue concerning the Skopje problem is the name. The symbols and the constitution are secondary. The government must clarify that it is going to New York determined to avert the direct or de facto adjudication on the issue of the name in favor of Skopje," he said.
Meanwhile, in Bonn, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel hailed as "an important step to peace in former Yugoslavia," the decision by Greece and Skopje to establish friendly relations.
Mr. Kinkel called on both sides to take all necessary efforts, in the framework of the New York talks, to achieve a final solution to their differences.
An announcement issued by the German Foreign Ministry yesterday said that Mr. Kinkel "had contributed significantly to the achievement of yesterday's agreement between Athens and Skopje through his talks with President Gligorov as well as Greek foreign ministers."
The Foreign Ministry yesterday informed its EU partners of the recent developments in Athens' dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
An announcement said the embassies of the EU member-states were informed of Monday's developments yesterday afternoon.
Greece said yesterday renewed NATO air-strikes on Bosnian Serb targets were a "worrying development" for the critical Yugoslav summit in Geneva in three days' time.
"The air strikes come at a time when positive preconditions had been charted for the Geneva meeting," Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis said.
NATO jet fighters resumed their blitz of Bosnian Serb targets after a four-day lull.
Foreign ministers from Bosnia, rump Yugoslavia and Croatia have agreed to meet in Geneva on Friday to lay the groundwork for future negotiations on the Yugoslav conflict. The meeting was clinched by US peace envoy Richard Holbrooke in his shuttle miss ion to the former Yugoslavia last week.
Mr. Arsenis said the Bosnian Serbs had "to a great extent" satisfied NATO and United Nations preconditions for ending massive attacks on Bosnian Serb positions.
"The airport (in Sarajevo) had opened, freeing the channels of humanitarian aid and, according to General Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs have begun withdrawing heavy weapons around Sarajevo," Mr. Arsenis said. "It appears NATO and the UN were not satisfied with the pace of withdrawal of the heavy artillery," he added.
Mr. Arsenis yesterday presided over a scheduled meeting of the Council of Chiefs of General Staff.
According to sources, the latest developments in Bosnia were discussed during the meeting.
Greece has not allowed Turkish aircraft due to participate in NATO's operations in Bosnia to use Greek airspace, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday.
Mr. Venizelos said Greece's important role in the region was now recognized by all and reiterated that Greece favored a diplomatic and political solution, which it considered the sole viable solution.
The Coalition of the Left and Progress party said that further NATO bombings in former Yugoslavia will put the process of peace negotiations in danger.
The Coalition called on the government to "stop mincing words and making ambiguous statements" and request that NATO missions stop.
Former US Secretary of State and UN mediator on the Athens-Skopje dispute Cyrus Vance said Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and his counterpart from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Stevo Crvenkovski would meet at the United Nations in New York next Monday or Tuesday to sign an accord between the two countries covering "a broad range of things."
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr. Vance said "I am very pleased to be with you and particularly pleased to have good news for you."
He referred to a statement circulated by the UN secretary-general's spokesman on Monday announcing Mr. Vance's invitation for a meeting between the foreign ministers of Greece and FYROM at the UN next week to conclude an accord.
"Greek Foreign Ministers Mr. Papoulias and the FYROM Minister Crvenkovski will come to the UN headquarters here next week to conclude the agreement for the conclusion of the discussions which have been taking place over some 28 months," he said.
"I have been working all along for the Secretary-General and for the Security Council under the resolutions of the S.C. and myself," he added.
Mr. Vance said he was extremely satisfied at being able to announce that both foreign ministers had accepted the invitation he had conveyed on behalf of the Secretary-General and himself.
He said next week's meeting was the culmination of a long-standing mediating effort. The agreement, he said, would resolve outstanding issues between the two countries, adding that "I hope will form the basis of future friendly relations between the parties."
"It's a broad agreement and will be released after the ministers finalize it and sign," he said.
Mr. Vance said the weekend was extremely busy and active which led to the final invitation and acceptance by the two sides.
He said he met Greece's permanent representative Christos Zacharakis on Monday. He also had a telephone conversation with FYROM President Kiro Gligorov in Skopje, held consultations with Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and talked on Monday with his "old colleague (US Secretary of State) Warren Christopher."
On Monday, Mr. Boutros-Ghali announced that his special representative, Cyrus Vance, would meet in New York next week with the foreign ministers of both Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to conclude an agreement prepared through the mediation efforts of Mr. Vance under Security Council resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993).
Asked whether the agreement resolved the issue of the name, Mr. Vance said: "It is an agreement with crossed Ts. It settles a broad variety, it's a broad, broad reach of things. In as far as the name is concerned, the name will be a subject for discussions which will continue past the signing of the agreement. I am not going to go into the details of all of that but it is a part of the overall picture."
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski told his Parliament a solution to the conflict between the two countries could not be expected if the national identity of the state of FYROM was threatened in any way, adding that nobody could impose a name on a country by force.
He said FYROM insisted on the position that issues could not be discussed independently and that what could lead to a normalization of relations would be "a wide agreement on all aspects of mutual relations."
Furthermore, he said a change in the articles of the constitution of FYROM could not be demanded because "of their mistaken interpretation."
In another development, Greek government sources categorically denied allegations by Skopje state TV according to which Greece will lift the embargo against FYROM before the meeting expected next week between the two countries' foreign ministers, Karolos Papoulias and Stevo Crvenkovski, in the United States.
Skopje state TV also reported that, after the signing of the agreement between the two countries, diplomatic and economic relations between the US and FYROM would be upgraded.
After talks with Turkish leaders in Ankara yesterday, focusing on the Bosnian question and a wide spectrum of Turkish foreign policy concerns, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke told a press conference that problems between Greece and Turkey were very complex, and that a solution of the Cyprus dispute was of great importance in the normalization of relations.
"Turkey holds strategic importance for the US and Europe, and plays a crucial role in the Balkan crisis, as a reliable NATO ally," he said, adding that "its participation would be required in any (eventual) force for the consolidation of peace in Bosnia ".
He said that during talks with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, discussion had included the dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and the issue of Turkey's customs union with the European Union (EU).
He described the decision by Greece and FYROM to resume dialogue as a "significant step" for stability in the region, and called for EU and European Parliament support for the "extremely important" issue of the customs union with Turkey.
Mr. Holbrooke also met with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and Foreign Minister Mohammed Sacirbey, before departing for Belgrade for consultations with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert said on his return from France yesterday that Paris was willing to help Greece on its national issues and that French officials fully agreed with his proposal for the signing of a pact by Balkan states recognizing existing borders in the region.
Mr. Evert had talks in Paris with President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Herve de Charette.
"My trip to France began under difficult conditions... but we were vindicated and it was a great success," Mr. Evert said.
On the Skopje issue, Mr. Evert said that Paris also agreed that the issue must be resolved through the United Nations.
Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos yesterday reserved comment on statements by Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller to the Turkish daily 'Hurriyet' on Monday, saying the government had not been officially informed.
Asked to comment on the Turkish premier's claim that the issue of Cyprus' accession into the European Union is "not of any great concern to Turkey", Mr. Venizelos said the government would wait and see what form Turkish policy would take.
Greece is in favor of Cyprus' accession to the EU, he added.
Ms Ciller reiterated her threat to wage war on Greece if it extended its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, a right provided by the international Law of the Sea Convention, and also underlined that Turkey was now not concerned, as previously, as t o "whether Cyprus joins the European Union or not."
An Athens investigating magistrate yesterday remanded in custody two of the eight members of the ultra-nationalist Liberation Front of Northern Epirus (MAVI), implicated in an attack against an Albanian border army camp in April 1994, in which an Albanian officer and a soldier were killed.
Giorgos Anastasoulis, considered leader of the group, and Apostolos Karvelas were deemed especially dangerous for public order and likely to commit new offenses.
Five of those implicated were released on the grounds of insufficient incriminating evidence, while the testimony is pending from one remaining individual.
Seven of the eight alleged members of the made supplementary defense statements before an investigating magistrate yesterday as about 30 people chanted slogans outside the courthouse in support of Northern Epirus and against Greek politicians.
The eight are accused of intent to murder and jeopardizing the country's peace.
European Union commissioner for agriculture and rural development Franz Fischler is due in Greece on Thursday for an official visit which will include talks with Agriculture Minister George Moraitis and Alternate Foreign Minister George Mangakis. During his stay here, Mr. Fischler will also visit the Thessaloniki International Fair and, accompanied by Mr. Moraitis, the all-male monastic community of Mt. Athos.
Projects worth 540 million drachmas are underway on the holy island of Patmos in light of the celebrations September 23-27 marking the 1,900th anniversary of St. John's vision of the Apocalypse, recorded in the New Testament as the 'Revelations'.
The celebrations will be attended by Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, representatives of churches worldwide, President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and heads of state.
A press conference was held at the Athens Synod yesterday, attended by Vartholomeos' representative Bishop of Tralleis Isidoros, Tourism Minister Nikos Sifounakis, Environment Undersecretary Elisabeth Papazoi and Aegean Minister Antonios Kotsakas.
Among the projects is the construction of a 900-seat open-air theater which will be used by the Ecumenical Patriarch to say mass.
Ms Papazoi underlined that the celebrations were an opportunity to upgrade the historicity of the island.
Transport and Communications Minister Thanassis Tsouras yesterday announced a new ambitious Athens urban transport system expected to reduce traveling time by between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. The system will take effect on September 17 with the operation of 12 out of 16 bus trunk routes. The other four will go into effect on November 5 and will concern western Attica and Piraeus. Mr. Tsouras said there would be a transitional study period lasting until December 1995. According to the new system, passengers' waiting time at intermediary stops will last between 4.5-5 minutes at the most, distances in km will be halved, 211 old technology buses will be withdrawn from circulation and starting points will be reduced from 46 to 16 and bus routes leading downtown will be reduced from 91 to 17.
Mr. Tsouras said the public would be informed with route plans placed at starting points, terminals and selected bus stops. Information programmes would also be broadcast by the mass media.
The average Greek family will need 1,730,000 drachmas to cover its basic living requirements in this year's last quarter, a study prepared by the Consumers' Institute (INKA) and the General Federation of Greek Consumers says. According to the study, an average four-member Greek family needs about 345,000 drachmas a month at current prices to cover basic living needs. An additional provision of 350,000 must be made to the above sum for seasonal expenses, especially those of a social nature (Christmas gifts etc.), bringing the total to 1,730,000.
One in every three Greek families is estimated to need an extra monthly sum of 80,000 drachmas on average for rent. A breakdown of family expenses (excluding extras) shows 30.4 per cent spent on food and beverages, 12.3 per cent on utilities (electricity, water, telephone), 10.8 per cent on fuel and transport, 9.8 per cent on ation and entertainment, 9.7 per cent on clothing and footwear, per cent on personal care and hygiene, 9.1 per cent on durable goods, and 8.4 per cent on miscellaneous items.
Another INKA study, in collaboration with MCI, shows that Greeks need to work twice as many hours as the average European Union citizen in order to purchase basic goods.
Inflation marked a further drop in August and is now running at an annual rate of 8.7 per cent, compared to 8.9 per cent in July and 11.1 per cent in August last year, according to figures released yesterday by the National Statistics Service (NSS).
The drop in inflation came despite the fact that the price index rose by 0.1 per cent in August. The de-escalation was due to a rise of 0.3 per cent in the price index in August last year. The difference in the price index increase between August last y ear and August 1995 resulted in the further reduction of inflation.
The government's target is to get inflation down to 8 per cent by the end of the current year, which the National Economy Ministry believes to be quite realistic since it estimates that the downward course will continue in September.
Workers at the Skaramangas Shipyards said yesterday their proposal that the state retain 51 per cent of the enterprise and the remainder be held by employees was the only solution to the "dead end" created by Industry Ministry policies
President of the Skaramangas Workers Union George Kontakis was speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's adviser Michalis Karchimakis, following a march to the premier's offices in central Athens.
"We want the premier to receive this message and intervene personally in support of the employees," he said. The request is reiterated in a letter sent by the unionists to the premier.
The workers were critical of the Industry Ministry's policy of "continuing to meet with insolvent prospective buyers" and accused the leadership of "irresponsibility, of acting in a make-shift fashion and intransparency".
They said decisions on future mobilizations will be taken over the next few days.
The Social Insurance Foundation (IKA), National, Commercial, Agricultural Banks and Hellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETBA) have requested the Athens courts to proceed the liquidation of the Elefsina Shipyards while they continue to operate to recoup losses.
The IKA application, which is owed over three billion drachmas for employees' insurance contributions, was heard at an Athens Appeals Court yesterday.
The banks' combined claims comprises over 51 per cent of the yard's total liabilities.
They request the sale to take place as soon as possible and at the highest possible price. They propose the Investment Bank as a liquidator, which has agreed to the proposal.
National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou held 45-minute talks with businessman and president of Greece's leading telecommunications firm Intracom, Socrates Kokkalis, yesterday.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mr. Kokkalis said they discussed digital data systems, adding that the same rules in effect in the Community should also have effect in Greece and that Greek industry needed long-term programmed agreements.
According to reports, Mr. Kokkalis has addressed a letter to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization's (OTE) administration concerning its intention to proclaim international tendering for the procurement of modern digital polyplexy systems valued at about 10 billion drachmas.
The letter was communicated to Mr. Papantoniou, Commerce and Industry Minister Costas Simitis and Transport and Communications Minister Thanassis Tsouras, as well as to Federation of Greek Industries (SEB) President Jason Stratos and General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) President Christos Protopapas.
According to the reports, Mr. Kokkalis says in his letter OTE's intention to proclaim tendering to procure the above systems was "inexplicable" at a time when all the conditions existed to legally and politically support a long-term contract for their procurement from local industry.
President Kostis Stephanopoulos yesterday had talks with the last president of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev on recent international developments and the situation in the Balkans.
Mr. Gorbachev will also be received today by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.
Earlier in the day, he will confer with PASOK Secretary Akis Tsohatzopoulos.
Current problems in the Balkans are the outcome of the clumsy handling of the new reality that emerged following the end of the Cold War, Mr. Gorbachev told reporters yesterday, following a meeting with former New Democracy prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis.
The recognition of the independence of the republics comprising the former Yugoslavia was hasty, and a comprehensive formula dealing with the emergent problems of the different peoples should have been sought instead, he said.
"The FYROM issue is, of course, an important problem for Greece, which is directly affected by the situation which has been formed. I would agree with former prime minister, Mr. Mitsotakis, that this issue has priority over other issues in Greek policy ," he added.
Later in the day, and after meeting present New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert, who praised his contribution to peace, Mr. Gorbachev described Greece as a "crossroads", adding that "this is a great blessing, but also a great misfortune".
Referring to contemporary problems, he said, "the question is what we do about them. There are those who say let's do nothing and wait for things to evolve by themselves. I disagree with this and I think there are possibilities, if we also look into the past, to find solutions".
On the sidelines of the 'Athens Meeting' conference, at which he spoke on Monday, the former Soviet leader received an honorary doctorate in civil law from the British University of Durham. The title was bestowed by acclaimed actor Peter Ustinov, who is president of the University.
A group of Communist Party of Greece (KKE) supporters demonstrated outside the Divani Caravel Hotel during the ceremony, holding placards denouncing Mr. Gorbachev as an "undesirable in Greece", and "a traitor of the people".
According to press sources, Mr. Stephanopoulos will pay an official visit to Bucharest on October 6-8 before visiting New York and Boston on 17-23 of the same month.
Ninety-eight deputies from across the Greek political spectrum have condemned France's decision to resume nuclear testing.
The deputies, in a letter to Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis, have called on him to take initiatives in the framework of international organizations to end all nuclear testing.
Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had an "acquaintance" meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the Athens Meeting.
The Athens Meeting, inaugurated Monday and bringing together Greek and foreign dignitaries from the sectors of politics, the sciences and the arts for discussion on political, economic and cultural developments on the threshold of the 21st century, is organized by the National Technical University of Athens (Polytechnic) and sponsored by European Parliament President Klaus Haensch with the cooperation of the Hagen University and the International Economic, Political and Social Studies Foundation.
Mr. Gorbachev said after the meeting with Mr. Clerides that "we are in a transitional period, at the centre of which are many issues."
"We inherited all these problems from the past, and now we are witnessing developments in all of them. It is necessary for solutions to be found for these problems, and the international organizations must intercede in that direction," he said.
Although the 21-year-old Cyprus problem is not at the focus of intense international efforts, Mr. Gorbachev expressed conviction that the new world order would lead to the "mobilization of the appropriate mechanisms for its solution".
Questioned on the possibility of a five-party conference on the Cyprus problem, suggested by US Congressman Ben Gilman during his recent visit to the region, Mr. Clerides said such a prospect did not exist. "The US government has not proposed a five-party conference, nor do I believe it will propose one if there is no convergence of views on the basic issues so that there will be margins for success," he said.
The Cyprus president said a "sounding out" had taken place on behalf of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee but not on behalf of the American government. "If such a conference were to take place, great preparation would be needed so that there will be prospects for success," he added.