Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-02-22

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE EU, NATO AND THE US FOCUS ON THE BALKANS

[02] A 180 DEGREES TURN LED TO THE CHINOOK CRASH LAST SEPTEMBER

[03] THE ACTING GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER

[04] MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCES TO THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT

[05] GREEK INITIATIVE IN THE BALKANS

[01] THE EU, NATO AND THE US FOCUS ON THE BALKANS

An appeal to the European leaders to leave behind the times of disagreement because of the war in Iraq and have a new era of transatlantic unity was issued by US President George Bush at the NATO and EU Summit meeting taking place in Brussels.

Mr. Bush will express support to a strong Europe and the US will for cooperation with the EU to consolidate peace in the Middle East as well the intention to offer tangible aid for the reconstruction of Iraq.

In his intervention, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis will refer to the situation in the Balkans and the prospects that are being opened.

The Greek government has undertaken an initiative on the situation in the Balkans and specifically, concerning the efforts for a solution in Kosovo. The Foreign Ministry has gathered different points of view through missions to Balkan capital cities, is in contact with the United States and the EU, while it is also in contact with Belgrade and Pristina.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to invite her Greek counterpart Petros Moliviatis to visit Washington formally at the end of March to discuss bilateral relations and developments in the wider region.

[02] A 180 DEGREES TURN LED TO THE CHINOOK CRASH LAST SEPTEMBER

The Chinook helicopter that crashed on September 11, 2004 killing all its 17 passengers, among them Patriarch Petros of Alexandria, made a deadly 180 degrees turn.

Based on an Athens daily TA NEA press report, the change of course to the opposite direction and the dive with great speed is, according to specialists, the cause that led to the Chinook crash.

Based on the decoding of the flight data, the turn that was made in the last seconds of the flight was sudden and unavoidable while in combination with other findings the conclusion is that the helicopter's navigation system blocked as a result of a general electric system blackout.

[03] THE ACTING GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER

A one-hour meeting with the EU general director on domestic market issues had Minister of Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Minister of State Thodoris Rousopoulos and Deputy Minister of Finance Christos Folias to brief him on the content and philosophy of the majority shareholder law.

Acting government spokesman Vangelis Antonaros stated that the meeting was held at the Greek government's will and reiterated that the government has the belief that the law in question is consistent with the Constitution and the European Law.

He also clarified that he is not aware of any objections submitted by European companies to the responsible European bodies against the specific law.

[04] MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCES TO THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis sent a message of condolences to Islamic Republic of Iran President Seyed Mohammad Khatami for the victims of the earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale that hit the country in the early morning hours today.

Mr. Karamanlis expressed the condolences and support of the government and the Greek people to the Iranian government and the families of the people killed in the region of the city of Zarand hit by the earthquake this morning.

[05] GREEK INITIATIVE IN THE BALKANS

Initiatives for the consolidation of peace in the Balkan region are being undertaken by Greece, according to Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis who gave a press conference in Brussels today on the sidelines of the joint meeting of the EU and NATO leaders.

On the issue of Kosovo, he said that 2005 will be a milestone year because the evaluation report on the criteria set by the international community regarding the region's final status will be issued in the summer. A main precondition, stated Mr. Karamanlis, is that any decision reached should satisfy the EU principles, respect democracy, minority rights, and religious freedoms and protect private property and monuments.

Mr. Karamanlis also said that Greece will offer a hospital unit to Afghanistan for a period of 18 months and characterized elections in Iraq as a hopeful step. He also said that the prospects for peace in the Middle East are favorable and pledged to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean cooperation while he expressed Europe's support to the reform process in Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Greek Prime Minister had contacts with the French President, the German Chancellor, the Prime Ministers of Spain, Britain and Denmark and the US President.

Responding to a question on his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mr. Erdogan, he clarified that that no specific talks were held.

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