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Thursday, 21 November 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-12-08Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Áthens on EU FMs' councilBRUSSELS (ANA-MPÁ) -- Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou expressed, in a joint statement, their satisfaction on Tuesday over the final conclusions of the EU's external relations council regarding Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), underlining that the positive results were supported by close coordination between Greece and Cyprus.On the question of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), Droutsas expressed satisfaction over the decisions concerning the one-time Yugoslav republic, adding that within the day Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was due to have a telephone conversation with that country's prime minister, Nikola Gruevski. The Greek premier's initiative is interpreted as confirmation of Athens' standing commitment to boost bilateral cooperation. As regards Turkey, Droutsas said that following prolonged and tough negotiations, a substantive improvement in the EU council's conclusions was achieved. The Greek alternate foreign minister said Athens vigorously promoted its positions, while noting that the Swedish EU presidency had radically different views from those of Greece. Referring further to Turkey's EU course, Droutsas termed as a "considerable success" the exclusion from the Council's conclusions of a text proposed by the Swedish presidency that stated, among others, that bilateral differences between member-states and candidate-countries must not be an obstacle for EU enlargement. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |