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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-05-26Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, May 26, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] NATO INTENSIFIES RAIDS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIABelgrade, May 26 (MPA)NATO aircraft continued to pound Yugoslavia last night, targeting the building which houses the state- owned television station in Novi Sad. Seven missile and bomb blows were dealt at the high-voltage power transmission line near the town of Obrenovac, 30 kilometers away from Belgrade. The partially-restored power supply to the Yugoslav capital was again interrupted at dawn. Also, three missiles were fired at the building of the Serbian Interior Ministry in the center of the city, although they failed to explode. According to the Yugoslav agency Tanjug, one person was killed and five others were wounded during last night’s raids in a Serbian village, while a five-year-old child was wounded during NATO raids over Kosovo. A.F.[02] DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS CONTINUE IN YUGOSLAVIAMoscow, May 26 (MPA)U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will fly to Moscow today for further consultations over Kosovo. While in Moscow, Mr. Talbott is expected to have talks with Russia's Balkans envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin and Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari. Messrs. Ahtisaari and Chernomyrdin will travel to Belgrade tomorrow where they will meet with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic Meanwhile, the Allies have ratified a plan that allows for the augmentation of the NATO military presence in FYROM to 45,000-50,000 troops. A.F.[03] GREEK FM TO MEET WITH US SECRETARY OF STATE TODAYWashington, May 26 (MPA)Greece’s Foreign Minister George Papandreou is presently on a four-day visit to the United States, where he will meet with the Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington. Mr. Papandreou will brief Ms. Albright on the Greek-Czech initiative for a 48-hour suspension of NATO bombings in Yugoslavia before any relevant resolution by the UN Security Council. China has reportedly welcomed the Greek- Czech initiative. A.F.[04] PRESIDENT OF GREECE TO CONDUCT OFFICIAL VISIT TO BULGARIAAthens, May 26 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos is to embark on an official visit to Bulgaria today, where he will meet with President Petar Stoyanov and Prime Minister Ivan Kostov with whom he will discuss issues of bilateral interest and the latest developments in the Balkans.The President’s visit to Bulgaria was preceded by an official visit by Greece’s Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, May 17, who met with his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Ananiev, foreign minister Nadezda Michailova, foreign policy parliamentary committee chairman Asen Agov and parliament speaker Jordan Sokolov. Messrs. Tsochatzopoulos and Ananiev stated that they ascertained an identity of views concerning the Kosovo crisis. Specifically, the two ministers stated that they advocate an expeditious and peaceful settlement of the crisis through diplomatic means. Moreover, they stated that they support the deployment of multi-national peace-keeping forces comprising NATO member and non-member states which would guarantee the implementation of a peace agreement. A.F. [05] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH VARTHOLOMEOS TO VISIT THESSALONIKIThessaloniki, May 26 (MPA)The Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will visit the Thessaloniki suburb of Kalamaria on May 31, the feast of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece.The Ecumenical Patriarch, the spiritual leader of all of the world's Orthodox Christians, arrived in Greece on May 20 for a two-week visit as the official guest of the Orthodox Church of Greece. A.F. [06] CHERNOMYRDIN:TODAY’S TALKS SHOULD LEAD TO END OF RAIDSMoscow, May 26 (MPA)Russian presidential envoy on Yugoslavia Viktor Chernomyrdin has stated that today’s trilateral talks in Moscow “should lead to an end to air strikes in Yugoslavia."According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, Mr. Chernomyrdin said that he will travel to Belgrade tomorrow irrespective of the outcome of talks in Moscow. He noted that only two key questions have to be agreed at the talks in Moscow: the withdrawal of Serbian troops from Kosovo and the structure of international presence in that province. He stressed that "Belgrade and (Yugoslav President Slobodan) Milosevic are ready to accept many things, including the participation of NATO countries, which are not actively involved in combat actions, such as Greece or Portugal, to take part in the international presence." A.F. [07] TRIPARTITE HUMANITARIAN AID GIVEN TO RED CROSS IN KOSOVOBelgrade, May 26 (MPA)Five trucks with humanitarian aid from Greece, Russia and Switzerland were passed over to the Red Cross Committee in Kosovo yesterday, consisting of foods, hygiene articles and detergents. Under the Focus initiative of the three countries, the humanitarian aid is weekly supplied to various regions of Yugoslavia. Yesterday’s was the fifth humanitarian convoy. In the previous dispatches of aid, the trucks brought a field hospital of 40 beds, warm clothing and medicines. The field hospital was placed in Prokupje. A.F.[08] GREECE TO PRESENT TRUCE PROPOSAL AT NEXT NATO ENVOYS MEETAthens, May 26 (MPA)Greece will present its joint proposal with the Czech Republic on a 48-hour cease fire in the Yugoslav conflict at the next sitting of NATO envoys, government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas stated yesterday. Mr. Reppas added that Greece supports the G-8 proposals on Kosovo, stressing that maximum use should be made of the mediating efforts of Russian special envoy for Kosovo Viktor Chernomyrdin and Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. According to the spokesman, the Greek-Czech proposal will allow for the strengthening of a peace initiative on the strife-torn Kosovo. A.F.[09] TALBOTT ADVOCATES STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO KOSOVOMoscow, May 26 (MPA)United States First Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, presently in Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, stated today a large amount of important work is yet to be done.Speaking prior to his meeting with Mr. Ivanov, Mr. Talbott stressed that the sides will proceed step by step, gradually resolving the most important matters. "We are working, upon having rolled up our sleeves, and, to my mind, working very well," he said. Mr. Talbott added that "the Belgrade leadership, who have taken up a tough stand", should agree to complying with a number of most important demands put forward by the international community as a whole. He mentioned demands such as the return of many thousands of refugees to their homes under conditions of safety and the granting of a high degree of autonomy of local authorities. A.F. [10] HON. PRESIDENT OF MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY TO VISIT BELGRADEBelgrade, May 26 (MPA)The honorary president of Greece’s main opposition party, New Democracy’s Konstantinos Mitsotakis, is to travel to Belgrade this evening where he will have a personal meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.It is not know as of yet whether Mr. Mitsotakis will meet with Mr. Milosevic prior to or following the latter’s talks with the Russian envoy for Kosovo Viktor Chernomyrdin. A.F. [11] SECOND WAVE OF KOSOVO REFUGEES TO USE THESSALONIKI AIRPORTThessaloniki, May 26 (MPA)A second wave of refugees from Kosovo will pass through Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport tomorrow, in transit to Australia where they will be granted temporary shelter. They will arrive in Thessaloniki from FYROM by road Approximately 400 people, mostly women and children, flew out of Thessaloniki last Thursday headed for Australia. According to reports, a total of 20,000 refugees will depart for various destinations from the Macedonia Airport. A.F.[12] GREECE’S DEVELOPMENT MINISTER IN SOFIA TOMORROWThessaloniki, May 26 (MPA)Greece’s Development Minister Evangelos Venizelos will be in Sofia, tomorrow, where he will inaugurate the new processing plant established by Greek fruit juice firm, Florina SA. The firm has invested six million dollars on converting the former bakery in a suburb of Sofia, bought for $640,000 in 1997, into a processing plant capable of packaging fruit juices, nectar and pulp. It will have the capacity to package 10,500 one-liter and 250-mg units per hour. A.F.[13] BLACK SEA TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BANK TO OPEN JUNE 1Thessaloniki, May 26 (MPA)The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is to embark on its operation on June 1, with the official inauguration taking place later in the month.The bank's budget, which is expected to be 150 million dollars in 1999, will finance projects and programs funded jointly with other credit organizations, such as the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The shareholders of the Black Sea Bank are the 11 member-states of the Black Sea Organization of Economic Cooperation: Greece, Turkey, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldavia and Albania. A.F. [14] ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY, GREEKS OPPOSE NATO RAIDS ON SERBIAAthens, May 26 (MPAWith an almost unanimous rate, 99.5% of Greeks are opposed to NATO’s air strikes against Yugoslavia, while 99.3% of those polled are against the use of ground forces, according to a survey conducted by the Psychology Department of the Panteios University in Athens. According to the survey, conducted between April 29- May 5, 14% of those polled believe that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic should be tried for war crimes, while 25% believe that U.S. President Bill Clinton, British Premier Toni Blair, NATO commander general Wesley Clark and NATO chief Javier Solana should also be prosecuted as war criminals. More than half of those who responded to the survey (56%) believe that the Greek government should have vetoed the airstrikes. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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