Antenna: News in English (AM), 98-04-02

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From: Antenna Radio <http://www.antenna.gr> - email: antenna@compulink.gr

Last Updated: Thursday, 02-Apr-98 08:51:06

CONTENTS

[01] Tsochatzopoulos-Yeltsin

[02] EU-Cyprus

[03] Arms Embargo on Yugoslavia

[04] Polish president in Athens

[05] Sports & Media

[06] Crete

[01] Tsochatzopoulos-Yeltsin

Russian defence minister Igor Sergeyev said after meeting with Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos that there is a high level of cooperation between the two countries in military and technical matters.

Tsochatzopoulos continued to receive the warm attentions of his Russian hosts in Moscow Wednesday.

He and Sergeyev discussed the air defence umbrella Greece wants to create over the Aegean.

And the Russian minister said his country is ready to sell Greece S-300 land-to-air missiles, if Greece decides it wants them.

Sergeyev laid emphasis on the ties between the two countries. He said those close bonds were borne out by the Kremlin meeting between Tsochatzopoulos and presient Boris Yeltsin Monday.

A new anti-aircraft system is only one of several weapons systems Greece intends to buy - in all, Greece will spend 7 billion dollars upgrading its armed forces.

And a number of nations are competing to win contracts.

The Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile is up against the US Patriot for instance.

The US and Russia are to submit their offers by mid-April, and Athens is expected to name the supplier in May.

A confident Sergeyev said Greece wants the best system in the world, and that's the S-300.

Russian plans to sell Cyprus the S-300 this year. Turkey has threatened to bomb the S-300 sites in Cyprus if they are deployed.

But Moscow is backing Cyprus up. Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov was asked by German reporters to comment on that Turkish threat, and reportedly replied, "Let them try".

On Wednesday, Tsochatzopoulos toured a plant that produces MiG fighter jets - the MiG is in the running to join the Greek air force, as are the American F-15 and F-16.

The Greek minister said he's satisified with the way his visit went; it allowed the two governments to lay the basis for more systematic cooperation in defence matters, with the long-term aim of strengthening collective security in the Balkan region in mind.

[02] EU-Cyprus

Talks on Cypriot admission into the EU began in Brussels Monday, over the objections of the Turks and the Turkish-Cypriots.

Immediately, Turkey announced a series of measures to tighten its political, economic, and cultural links to occupied northern Cyprus.

Greek deputy defence minister Iannos Kranidiotis says he's confident that despite the difficulties, the accession talks will go smoothly.

The Cypriot government has invited the Turkish- Cypriots to join the EU admission talks, but have met with refusal.

Greece and Cyprus urge the Turkish-Cypriots to abandon the course of isolation from the international community Turkey has set them on.

Kranidiotis says the Cypriot offer for them to join the negotiating team is generous, and still stands.

[03] Arms Embargo on Yugoslavia

Only, China, which abstained from the security council vote, failed to back the embargo call. Russia voted for it only after the US and Britain removed a clause calling the situation in Kosovo a threat to world peace.

The United Nations is demanding that Yugoslavia begin unconditional talks with the Albanian majority in its southern province of Kosovo, where some 80 Albanians were killed as Serbian security forces attacked a number of villages in early March, ostensibly to strike a blow against militant separatists.

The UN security council resolution calls for the aim of the talks to be granting of quote "substantial autonomy" unquote to Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the population is ethnic Albanian.

Under pressure from the Contact Group on Yugoslavia, which comprises Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the US, Serbia sent negotiators to Kosovo in early March, and offered the province some autonomy.

But the Albanains rejected the talks as a ploy, and insisted first that they would consider only outright independence, and then later that they wanted an international mediator present at any negotiations. Now, they say they want to negotiate with a Yugoslav Federation team, not a delegation made up of just Serbs.

Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic has rejected mediation; he insists that Kosovo is an internal affair.

Belgrade has denounced the Security Council resolution, maintaining that its backers are trying to break up Yugoslavia by encouraging Albanian separatists in Kosovo.

Yugoslavia's UN ambassador said Wednesday his country will never allow Kosovo to secede. Calling the alleged support for Kosovo's secessionist "unprecedented", he also warned the security council that its policy on Kosovo endangers the legal system of international relations.

Defending the resolution, the US ambassador to the UN said the embargo is a clear signal to Belgrade that the world will not tolerate violence and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

The Russian govrnment spokesman said Belgrade should not see the embargo as punishment, but as a preventive measure.

[04] Polish president in Athens

In advance of their arrival, Polish ambassador to Greece Voytek Lamendovitch announced the establishment of the Greek-Polish business council.

Lamendovitch says of the upcoming presidential visit, "Our intention is to cooperate with Greece on an international level, especially regarding Poland's entry into the EU". Poland is among the nations currently holding accession talks with the EU.

Eva Dolinska, commercial attache at the Polish embassy, says her government is extremely interested in economic cooperation with Greece.

Lamendovitch thanked Antenna president Minos Kyriakou and two honorary consuls for their help in organizing 'Polish Days', a series of business and cultural events being held this week.

One Polish official commented, "We want to make our country known to Greece. Poles love your country".

Antenna is sponsoring a portion of the upcoming business and cultural events.

[05] Sports & Media

Kyriakou said that sports broadcasts have evolved into one of the key elements that go into making up a TV station's identity and attracting viewers.

Indeed, many European satellite TV stations broadcast exclusive sports programmes.

Sports teams also benefit from TV coverage, which gives them a much wider audience than they would otherwise have.

But the cost of coverage rights often runs high. Kyriakou believes a balance has got to be found, so that the interests of both athletic teams and leagues and TV stations are protected.

Both sides, he adds, can benefit from new uses of technology, by offering new viewing packages to an international audience.

[06] Crete

One islander likes the idea of solar and wind energy so much that he has outfitted his home with solar panels and a wind generator.

Giorgos Falatakis who lives in the village of Athanati was tired of the recurrent blackouts in his area. "The idea came to me when I returned from a visit to Mount Athos", he says. "Even the largest monasteries have managed to harness energy from the sun".

Michalis Palamianakis, the solar expert who installed the panels says, "We placed eleven panels on the roof of the house. Those combined with the one wind generator can produce up to 2.5 kilowatts a day. We're talking about a enough energy to light the entire house, and keep the fridge and TV working.

There's no need to worry about sunless or windless days. This system can store enough energy to last a week.

The only drawback is the cost, which run in the neighborhood of six thousand dollars. Mrs. Falatakis wasn't too thrilled in the beginning but is slowly warming up to the idea. She says, "One thing is for sure, I have electricity when no one else in the village does".

(c) ANT1 Radio 1998

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