Mr. Simitis was accompanied by Archbishop of all America Dimitrios, Minister of Press, Christos Protopapas, and Foreign Minister, Gorgos Papandreou, as well as relatives and friend s of those lost in the twin towers.

Mr. Simitis walked round the site for quite a time, despite the rain, while Senator Summers, who spoke with warm words of Greece, Greek Democracy and Mr. Simitis, personally.

"In this area, this tragic space, we think of all those who lost their lives, including many Greek Americans. Innocent existences killed by these unbelievably barbaric terrorist attacks. We mourn the victims, and our thoughts are with their families and their friends. From the first moment of this terrorist attack, the Greek government and the Greek nation has been at the side of all American families, grieving with their relatives, feeling the sorrow of every Greek-American, and the families that lost m embers", stressed Mr. Simitis.

We support, Greece supports the just struggle against terrorism, because we wanta world where there will be peace, cooperation and common attempts for development." he underlined.

The Prime Minister repeated the Greek government's commitment to financially contribute to the rebuilding of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nikolaos, "not only so that it may honor the fallen of this tragedy, but as a symbol of human spirit and hope".

Earlier, in Mr. Simitis meeting with the Archbishop, which lasted about an hour, issues on Greeks living abroad and Greek schools were discussed.

Mr. Miller stated that the Bush-Simitis meeting will cover all issues and will include US worries on November 17 activity in Greece.

However he rejected the content of the recent 60 Minutes on CBS, saying that it does not reflect the US positions.

Mr. Miller revealed that the Euroarmy discussion will take place behind closed doors and said that resolving the Cyprus issue is a US government priority.

In his interview with Maria Kartsinaki of the Greek BBC Service, he stressed that the issues to occupy the two sides have not been put in strict order of importance, as the Greek media has presented them.

"The reason I do not want to put these issues in order of importance is because these meetings don't turn out like that, especially when two leaders meet for the first time. The issues to be discussed are obvious-the campaign against terrorism, developm ents in Europe-since Mr. Simitis is the first European leader to visit Mr. Bush after the circulation of the Euro", stated Mr. Miller.

The meeting is considered especially important, since the discussion will include crucial events which have caused friction in the two countries' relations lately, and the annoyance of the Greek side towards US positions. A characteristic example is the composition of the Euroarmy, for which the US and the UK have drawn up a plan which was rejected by Greece at the Laaken Summit Meeting. NATO's US digital maps, which do not include sea borders between Greece and Turkey, caused great discontentment in Gre ece, and on New Year's President of the Greek Republic Kostis Stefanopoulos characterized that action as a "non-friendly gesture". The issue of global alliance in order to fight terrorism will be discussed. US Ambassador in Athens Thomas Miller pointed ou t that the issue of "November 17", a terrorist organization in relation to which US media has presented completely unsubstantiated accusations towards Greece, with CBS's 60 Minutes as a climax, will also be discussed. Mr. Miller stated that that show did not represent the official US view on the matter, but that it has created a heavy climate. The 2004 Athens Olympics and the Cyprus issue are also on the agenda.

Mr. Simitis will give the Greek answers on all these issues, as he said before departing for the US, and he will present Greece's positions on national issues and developments in Europe, the Balkans and the broader region. Specifically on terrorism he wi ll point out that weeding it out is a Greek government priority, and that there is good cooperation with the US in that sector. The position of the Greek government is reinforced by the public support of the President of New Democracy, Kostas Kramanlis, w ho stated that there is no room for backing up on national issues.

Prior to his meeting with Mr. Bush, at 2:30pm, Mr. Simitis will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Colin Powell, and it, at 4:15pm, with the Minister of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Right after the end of the discussions Mr. Bush and Mr. Simitis wil l make statements to the press and will answer a few questions. The Greek Prime Minister will hold a press conference after the completion of his meeting with the Minister of Defense.

The taking off of inflation was mainly the result of the recent bad weather which increased the fresh fruit and vegetable prices. The introduction of the single EU currency, the Euro, also had an unfavorable effect on inflation causing overpricing in a n umber of products.

The predictions are not good for the month of January as there are fears that inflation will continue to rise.

Mr. Yiannitsis clarified that the US Army Geographic Agency undertook to draw up the digital maps in question and it used the argument that the sea borders between Greece and Turkey will not appear on them because the specific maps will be used for milit ary exercises. Mr. Yiannitsis also stated that the Greek government reacted in a negative way and offered no cooperation for the drawing up of those maps.

Of the stocks trading today, 196 recorded gains and 103 had losses, while the value of 51 stocks remained unchanged.

Mr. Hitiris stressed that the Greek borders are not an issue of digital maps and are not set by them, stressing that they are already set and secure.

As it was made known, the two agreed to undertake an initiative for a joint meeting of all the Balkan Sports Ministers to examine the levels of cooperation among the Balkan countries in sports. He said that Mr. Ivanof suggested that the Greek teams and a thletes can be prepared in specialized sports centers in his country.

Mr. Ivanof stated that in the meeting they defined the general framework of their future cooperation, stressing that Bulgaria and Greece cooperate in the 2004 Olympic Games preparations.

The Cyprus issue, the situation in Afghanistan and the Balkans, and specifically the naming of FYROM, were the dominant issues at the meeting Mr. Simitis and the Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, had in New York.

As Mr. Simitis stated after the meeting, the Secretary General of the UN expressed his belief that the Cyprus issue will be resolved by the end of June.

He also stressed that the UN decided there should be intense negotiations between the two sides, with meetings about three times a week.

Mr. Bolkestein accused the government of delays in the process of the harmonization of the Greek legislation with the European Union legislation concerning the public works contracts.

According to diplomatic sources, Mr. de Soto said to Mr. Papandreou that he will visit Cyprus this weekend and that initially the UN will observe the procedure if it is requested by the parties involved. He also said that there will be ten rounds of talk s in Nicosia and one in New York.

Mr. Simitis stated after the meeting that Mr. Annan expressed the belief that a solution will be reached on Cyprus by the end of June, and stressed that the UN decided that there should be intensive negotiations between the two sides with meetings three times a week.

In the meeting they also discussed the UN security force in Kabul and Greece's participation. According to Mr. Simitis, Mr. Annan pointed out that in the period of the next 3-6 months this force will not be needed anymore in Afghanistan as the people of the country will be able to take their future into their own hands. He added that a meeting of donor countries for Afghanistan will be held in Japan next month with the participation of Greece.

Mr. Simitis stressed that if Turkey has problems with neighboring countries, such as Greece, it is up to it to undertake the initiative to solve them. He said that if the differences are not settled then they should be brought to The Hague, adding that t he only issue for Greece is that of the continental shelf.

Referring to the news reports on security during the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 published on US mass media, Mr. Simitis stated that President Bush knows that Greece is on the same side with the Americans and the countries that decided to combat terr orism. He stressed that there is no issue regarding the Olympic Games security, adding that members of the FBI are in cooperation with the Greek Police on the specific issue since 1998.

On the Balkans, Mr. Simitis stated that Mr. Annan pointed out the need to continue the efforts for the reconstruction of the countries in the region. On Turkey's participation in the Euro-army, he stated that Turkey is a member of NATO and the issue that

is being raised is the framework of cooperation between the EU and NATO.

He also stated that Mr. Annan backed the Greek proposal concerning the Olympic Truce and that the UN will make an announcement on the issue.

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