Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-01-20

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] FYROM-Greece

[02] Papandreou - Demirel - meeting

[03] Greece - Turkey - Agreements

[04] Stock market report

[05] Drug arrest-Albanians

[01] FYROM-Greece

The completion of the first 10 km of the Skopje-Thessaloniki oil pipeline, undertaken by the Hellenic Petroleum company, was hailed on Thursday by the Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Ljubco Georgievski in the presence of Greek Minister of Macedonia and Thrace Yiannis Mangriotis.

[02] Papandreou - Demirel - meeting

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou was received in Ankara Thursday afternoon by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, who emphasised that the Greek minister˘s official visit to the neighbouring country as ?a good beginning?.

?We must fully exploit the climate that has developed to Greek-Turkish relations,? Demirel said in referring to Greek-Turkish relations. He added that Turkey˘s designation as a European Union candidate state also created a ?new climate?.

On his part, Papandreou mentioned that the ?EU framework comprises a new field for dialogue.?

Greece ?is in favour of the development of dialogue between the two countries, and on an international level?? the Greek minister added.

[03] Greece - Turkey - Agreements

The ever-growing rapprochement between Athens and Ankara was underlined in the Turkish capital on Thursday as Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou not only signed four bilateral agreements but also returns home with an invitation for the Greek premier to visit Turkey.

Turkish Premier Bulent Ecevit conveyed the invitation towards his Greek counterpart, Costas Simitis, to officially visit Turkey before Papandreou signed the four ?low-level? agreements with Turkish FM Ismail Cem ˇ on tourism, environmental protection, citizens˘ security and the safeguarding of investments.

Ecevit forwarded the invitation during a meeting with Papandreou in the morning, as the Greek FM also relayed a message from Simitis to the Turkish premier.

Speaking at a joint press conference after a signing ceremony, both ministers ˇ the ?point-men? in burgeoning Greek-Turkish contacts over the past year ˇ referred to the ?significant and successful? outcome in a ?difficult procedure? begun over the past six months and concluded on Thursday.

?No one believed before six months that we could end up where we are today,? Cem said, adding that differences between the two countries remain.

[04] Stock market report

Equity prices ended Thursday's session flat on the Athens Stock Exchange reflecting lack of fresh incentives and investors' worries over developments in the inflation front.

Dealers said transactions were nervous with the general index fluctuating wildly for most part of the session.

The index ended 0.02 percent higher at 5.068.36 points, sharply off the day's highs of 5,135.56 and off the day's lows of 5,031.61 points.

Turnover was a low 217 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.09 percent lower at 2,642.47 points while the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 0.16 percent to 941.60.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 1,606.71 points, up 0.57 percent.

[05] Drug arrest-Albanians

Customs police on Thursday arrested an Albanian couple on the Greek-Albanian border after finding eight kilograms of hashish and a quantity of heroin in their posession.

Police said the couple, identified as Lino Baskin, 35, and his companion Evelina Polena, also 35, both from Korce, were arrested at the Krystollopigi border post just after they crossed into Greece.

Customs officials found the hashish stashed in their car, and an ensuing body search turned up 73 grams of heroin hidden in Polena's brasiere.

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