OTE satellite station begins operating
NEWS IN DETAIL
Russian foreign ministry envoys meet with FM Pangalos
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos today noted a ''wide-ranging coincidence
of views'' during talks here today with two envoys of Russian Foreign
Minister Yevgeny Primakov who are currently visiting the region.
The director of the third directorate for European Affairs at the Russian
foreign ministry, Vladimir Tchizov and deputy director of the ministry's
international organisations' department, Aleksandr Orlov are visiting
Athens, Nicosia and Ankara in order to highlight Moscow's willingness to
play an active role in finding a solution to problems in the southeast
Mediterranean, particularly the Cyprus problem.
After the meeting, Pangalos said the two sides shared the view that the
United Nations should be the principal agency in efforts to resolve the
Cyprus problem.
Underlining that all separate initiatives aimed at finding a Cyprus
settlement were welcome, Pangalos said that the Russian initiative was one
of the most important.
Pangalos said the discussion had also revolved around the basic principles
which must govern international relations and the operation of the UN which,
he added, must be respected by all.
He also thanked the Russian officials for Moscow's assistance in bolstering
Cyprus' defence -- a clear reference to the anti-aircraft missile system
recently ordered by Nicosia.
Asked whether Moscow was concerned about the reaction to the missile
purchase from Turkey and the United States, Tchizov replied that ''Russia
is concerned about the lack of progress in the Cyprus problem''.
Commenting on the missile deal, Tchizov said that Moscow's positions were
already known. He reiterated that Cyprus, like any other sovereign state,
had every right to conclude agreements.
He also launched a thinly veiled attack on those who he said ''want to
leave Russia out of the arms market''.
Farmers in Larissa hold rally, march
Farmers held a protest rally this morning in the centre of Larissa under
the watchful eye of a strong police force which had earlier guarded
approaches to the town to prevent the protesters from bringing tractors
in.
The rally was addressed by representatives of the pan-Thessaly coordinating
committee which organised the protest, who called on the government to
satisfy their demands, while underlining that they did not wish to enter
into a confrontation with the police.
The farmers later marched to the Larisa courthouse to express their support
for 19 colleagues on trial there, charged with obstructing traffic during
previous protests.
The protesters were later scheduled to head for the Larissa prefectural
building where they were expected to request a meeting with the local
prefect in order to put forward their demands.
Greek engineering firms undertake pioneering energy project for Moldova
Two Greek engineering companies and their bankers today presented a 38
million dollar project aimed at securing for Moldova liquid fuel supplies
by sea for the first time in the country's history.
The two companies -- Elliniki Technodomiki and Avax -- have undertaken the
study, construction and operation of a port terminal, eight fuel storage
tanks and auxiliary facilities in the area of Giurgiulesti on the banks of
the Danube river.
Giurgiulesti provides Moldova's only access to the sea.
In addition to the construction and project management, the Greek companies
will also operate the venture for 25 years on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer
(BOOT) basis.
The project will be financed 33 per cent from own funds, 42 per cent from
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loans and 25 per
cent from the three Greek banks cooperating in the project -- the National
Bank, Commercial Bank and General Bank.
It will be the first time that the EBRD funds an investment with the
participation of agencies of both the public and private sectors.
Also considered an innovation is the participation of the Greek banks in
the syndicated loan which will be lead managed by the EBRD.
The project is expected to be completed within 20 months, although it is
hoped partial operation will be possible after just 14 months.
By securing fuel supplies by sea, in tankers with a 10,000 DWT capacity,
the Moldovan government hopes to save hundreds of millions of dollars. Up
to now, Moldova has been supplied with liquid fuel only by road and rail,
at a high cost.
The terminal and other facilities to be built at Giurgiulesti will have an
annual capacity for moving 2.1 metric tonnes of liquid fuel. The Moldovan
government has guaranteed the movement of at least 1 million tonnes
annually at an agreed price.
The project in effect inaugurates a major Greek presence in Moldova which
is expected to grow with bilateral economic cooperation in other sectors
also.
The initial agreement was signed by the Moldovan government and the
consortium which will implement it -- Terminal S.A. -- in 1995, shortly
after which it was ratified by the Moldovan parliament.
The final agreement was signed last December.
German woman extradited
Andrea Hausler, a 31-year-old German woman wanted in connection with the
deadly 1986 disco bombing in West Berlin, will be put on a Lufthansa flight
from Thessaloniki to Munich early this afternoon, following an extradition
order, police sources said today.
The sources said that Hausler would be turned over to German police
authorities who arrived in Thessaloniki at noon today to accompany her back
to Germany on Lufthansa flight 3715, leaving Thessaloniki's Macedonia
Airport at 15:25 local time.
Hausler, who was arrested last October while vacationing with her two-year-
old son and boyfriend in Halkidiki, near Thessaloniki, is sought in
connection with the disco bombing, in which 3 people were killed -- two
U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman -- and 200 wounded, most of them U.S.
military personnel.
She is being held at Diavata prison on Thessaloniki pending extradition.
Two other people were arrested in Germany in October in connection with the
attack, which the U.S. blamed on Libya and retaliated by bombing the Arab
state.
Illegal immigrants arrested
Coastguard officers today arrested 47 illegal immigrants when the ferry-
boat on which they were travelling arrived in the western port city of
Patras.
The 42 men, 3 women and 2 children were arrested aboard the Ionian Star,
which they had boarded in a truck driven by Evangelos Tzoumas who was
arrested and is being held by the Italian authorities in Ancona.
Of the 47 illegal immigrants, 42 are Iraqis of Kurdish origin, 3 are
Pakistanis and 2 are Indians.
Negotiations for Cyprus EU accession to start six months after IGC
European Commission President Jacques Santer has confirmed that negotiations
for Cyprus' full EU membership will start six months after the end of the
inter-governmental Conference (IGC), clarifying that "there is no differ
ence of views in the Commission on this".
"We arrived at a total agreement regarding enlargement with Cyprus on March
6, 1995. We remain put on this agreement with Cyprus, for negotiations to
begin six months after the completion of the IGC," he said in answer to a
question in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.
Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, he expressed hope that problems will
be solved, and said that the Council of Ministers had dealt with this
issue.
Ciller threatens to block NATO expansion
Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said in Rome yesterday that Ankara
had no territorial claims on Greek land, and appealed to the international
community to help spur talks with Athens to end what she called "political
nonsense".
"We have no territorial claims whatsoever at all," she said on the eve of a
meeting with an informal "contact group" with Turkey - otherwise known as
5+1 - comprised of the foreign ministers from Italy, Spain, France, Germany
and Britain.
Ms Ciller also stressed that Ankara could veto NATO expansion eastwards,
unless the European Union decided to forge closer links with Turkey.
Italian reactions
Ms Ciller's official visit caused strong reactions in the Italian
Parliament, with 21 members describing the visit as "untimely" in a letter
to Prime Ministe Romano Prodi and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, stressing
that a time of ongoing investigations into recent revelations regarding her
connections with drug trafficking, and continuous violations of human
rights, it is "scandalous" for the government to be reaching agreements
with her.
Turkish aircraft violate Greek airspace
Turkish aircraft violated air traffic regulations and Greek national
airspace on five occasions yesterday, reports said. Two pairs of F-16 and F-
4 aircraft entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on four
occasions, engaging in violations of Greek airspace in the area between the
eastern Aegean islands of Hios, Limnos and Lesvos. In all cases, the
Turkish aircraft were identified and escorted out of national airspace by
Hellenic Air Force F-16s and F-1s.
W.C.C. protests bishop's sentence by Turkey
The Geneva-based World Council of Churches has written to Turkish Justice
Minister Sevket Kazan requesting the immediate rescinding of an Istanbul
court judgement sentencing a bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to five
months imprisonment.
The court handed the suspended sentence on Metropolitan Iakovos of Laodikia
for officiating at a service at a Bulgarian Orthodox Church near Fener.
In the letter to Mr. Kazan, the World Council of Churches points out that
the Metropolitan was officiating at the invitation of the parish council
and his presence was in keeping with an agreement between the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Sofia.
"According to this agreement," the letter says, "the Bulgarian parishes in
Istanbul are under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the
Greek parishes in Bulgaria are under the Bulgarian Patriarchate".
Describing the court decision as "unwarranted and unlawful", the council
said it constituted "a serious breach of the internationally accepted norms
and principles of religious freedom, liberty and belief, and is violative
of church, state relations."
The letter calls on Mr. Kazan "to take immediately the necessary steps in
view of rescinding the decision of the Court."
Culture ministers begin arriving in Thessaloniki
Culture ministers from 40 countries in the Balkans, the Black Sea, the
Mediterranean and the European Union began to arrive in Thessaloniki
yesterday in order to participate in a two-day meeting of culture ministers
tomorrow.
As official guests of the Cultural Capital of Europe organisation, the
ministers will also attend a three-day opening ceremony for the Cultural
Capital.
The culture ministers of Armenia, Georgia and Jordan arrived in Thessaloniki
yesterday, while the rest are scheduled to arrive Friday.
Museum won't be built over recently discovered Lyceum
Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos has announced that a new area will be
found for the proposed "Vasili and Eliza Goulandri" Modern Art Museum in
Athens.
Following a meeting he had with Eliza Goulandri, the minister announced
that they had arrived at the decision that a museum could not exist over
the site of the recently uncovered ancient ruins believed to be Aristotle's
Lyceum.
"Co-existence is not the solution which favours the double aim: the display
of the findings on one hand, with the parallel presence of modern Greece on
the other," Mr Venizelos said.
New OTE satellite station begins operation
The Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) yesterday announced the
official operation of its new satellite station at the Thermopyles
Communications Satellite Centre.
The station will cover telephone, telex, telefax and computer data for
Inmarsat-A terminals in the east Atlantic ocean region.
The estimated investment for the satellite station is 730 million
drachmas.
WEATHER
Fair with local clouds and possible drizzle in the afternoon in most parts
of Greece. The Cyclades, eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Thrace, Thessaly and
Macedonia will be partly cloudy with moderate northerly winds becoming
stronger later in the day. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures
between 3-11C. Thessaloniki will be overcast with temperatures between 1-
8C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Closing rates - buying US dlr. 256.769
Pound sterling 414.537 Cyprus pd 518.419
French franc 46.033 Swiss franc 179.076
German mark 155.218 Italian lira (100) 15.953
Yen (100) 212.576 Canadian dlr. 191.000
Australian dlr. 198.102 Irish Punt 408.605
Belgian franc 7.529 Finnish mark 52.636
Dutch guilder 138.210 Danish kr. 40.732
Swedish kr. 35.166 Norwegian kr. 39.234
Austrian sh. 22.069 Spanish peseta 1.844
Portuguese escudo 1.552
(M.P.)
