‘There are rivers of sewage in this camp’

… a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece and say the terrible conditions … helping ‘illegal aliens’, as the Greek authorities call the refugees until … on for so long in Greece that the majority of locals …

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Judge seizes passport, sets new bonds for man charged in robbery spree after he allegedly ...

A passport for Dionysios T. Doukas was also seized by the Lake Criminal Court, based on police concerns the defendant would flee to GREECE if he were released on ... Dvorscak said in the phone call the girlfriend told Doukas his uncle offered to buy him a “one-way ticket to GREECE and a few goats.

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Cardano Blockchain's First Use Case: Proof of University Diplomas in GREECE

GRNET, the national research and education network of GREECE, is working on a pilot project with blockchain research and development company IOHK to verify student diplomas on Cardano, a blockchain that launched in September . The project is notable because it is the first official use case of ...

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Passport turned over to court in fast-food robbery cases

Additionally, Lake County detective Michelle Dvorscak told the court that in monitoring his text messages, both Doukas's current girlfriend and his sister, Olga Medina, told Doukas his grandfather said he planned to send Doukas to GREECE "on a one-way ticket" after he bonded Doukas out. Dvorscak said ...

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GREEK Crisis Nears End

G ermany's Deutsche Presse Agentur news agency reports that the GREEK Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was elected in 2015 as a fighter against austerity, leading the eurozone to the verge of collapse, may be the person who will lead his country and the entire monetary union out of the crisis.

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Man Arrested over Murder of 22-year-old GREEK Woman in London

A 31-year-old man has been arrested in east London over the murder of 22-year-old Iuliana Tudos in Finsbury Park, north London, Scotland Yard said. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The 31-year-old man was arrested at around 1.30pm on New Year's Day at an address in Dalston. “He was arrested ...

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Briefing of diplomatic reporters by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias (Athens, 15.12.2017)

N. KOTZIAS: This was a busy week. As you know, on Monday we took part at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, with whom we have had some important agreements. On Wednesday evening and Thursday, we had the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, who met this morning with entrepreneurs and the Union of Greek Shipowners.Today we met with Mr. Hahn. I’ll brief you on that shortly. This Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan is coming, because Afghanistan is opening a new embassy in Athens, as is Antigua and Barbuda. My Colombian colleague told me that Colombia will also be opening an embassy here. All of this –daily visits from various foreign ministers, the opening of new embassies in Greece, our upcoming visit to Italy this Tuesday for a bilateral meeting– are positive developments and, I am pleased to say, that all of the international initiatives we have taken have drawn numerous requests for participation.Thus, for example, in the Rhodes Conference for Security and Stability –beyond the participant members, 7 European and 12 Arab countries– we have added, following their acceptance of our invitation, our northern neighbour, fYROM, which will be the 8th European country, and Palestine. Moreover, we have accepted observer status requests from Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia, for this process we are developing for a new peace and stability agreement in the region. In other words, these are new phenomena in Greek foreign policy: for large states to agree to come only as observers.Yesterday we had a debate in Parliament on the Erdogan visit. You will have seen it. I think our stance on that was very, very clear. Ask about it if you want to.Regarding Mr. Hahn, I wanted to say that we had an extremely interesting and creative discussion. As you know, his portfolio is Enlargement, and right now we are very interested in Albania and our northern neighbour Skopje. I underscored once again, and we agreed that all accession criteria must be met.I briefed Commissioner Hahn on the state of play in the negotiations with Albania. As you know, we held a three-day meeting in Crete, which continued for a little on Sunday – four days, in a sense – with my friend Mr. Bushati, who is an exceptional person. We will continue on 19 and 20 January, in Korçë. We will be driving up from Thessaloniki. It is about a two-hour ride.There, I hope that we will finish up with the issues we are looking at. I am cautiously optimistic. I don't think any of us are interested in seeing these issues perpetuated with the opening of the process of Albania’s negotiations with the European Union, or want them to constitute an obstacle to the negotiations. Both sides want to resolve the problems that have existed for a very, very long time, or update past agreements so that they meet current demands. Our general thinking is that this process should culminate in a new Friendship Pact between Greece and Albania. Or to put it correctly, that we update the Friendship Pact of 1996.Our talks concern a number of issues. We are well prepared. The teams we have appointed to coordinate and work together in December are already en route. There is a positive attitude on both sides.I hope the slogan “history must not be our prison, but our school” – will be put to practice. Our decision is to resolve the problems, and if we do resolve them, we will be firm supporters of Albania’s EU accession course. The problems we face aren’t so serious that cannot be resolved.Mr. Hahn is also very interested in hearing from us about the negotiations on the name issue and the corresponding process under Mr. Nimetz. Mr. Vassilakis has long led our negotiating team. Our very capable Ambassador, Sofia Grammata has been included, and our friendly country has also added a woman who also attended the negotiations.The talks were to take place on Monday and Tuesday, but bad weather intervened and kept the fYROM delegation from flying from Skopje to Brussels. They were forced to fly from Skopje to Vienna and then on to Frankfurt, where they caught the train. I have done this a number of times, and is a five and a half or six-hour ride. As a result, they didn’t get there until Tuesday morning.I say this because I was surprised on Monday to read about the results of talks that hadn’t taken place. And they even insist after the denials, as I read. Some people just make things up about negotiations, results – and if it hadn’t been for the bad weather that delayed the Skopje team, they would have insisted on the truth of their report on the content of the negotiations. The bad weather just happened to spoil their prefabricated report.We want this European course, provided the people of our neighbouring country want it and we will support it. There are two matters we need to resolve. One is for new confidence-building measures, and I don’t mean just economic measures. You know about the major project we have in Prespes. But, we also need to see indications that irredentism is not a used as a foreign or domestic policy tool in our neighbouring country. And we also need to talk about the issues associated with the name. As you know, these issues are basically the type of name, the extent of its use, the acronyms and the derivatives. Regarding the latter, we have the trade derivatives, which I don’t think will be resolved by any negotiations at this time, because it is a complicated technical issue. We have a study conducted by university professors, which is two volumes long. Essentially, the issue of trade derivatives has to be resolved by the more competent authorities on intellectual rights, such as chambers of commerce and the like.And of course we are very concerned about the name. Our friends in Skopje are very concerned about identity issues. I think we can find solutions on all issues. In our opinion, we shouldn’t let these issues drag on. We have to resolve these issues as soon as possible, if there is the will and the way, an efficient and creative way, so that we can leave behind issues that have dominated our relations in the past.I think that’s it initially. I just wanted to make a short statement, but I said that, since we are all here and Christmas is around the corner – we are going to Italy for interesting talks, and you will have heard what I said yesterday about EEZs, that we intend to reach agreements on them. We don’t need to conclude them all at once. We are talking to Egypt, we have the agreement with Albania that we are looking for a way to implement. And we have made good progress with Italy, and I hope this trip brings us to the end of the course. This isn’t the main or sole subject of our meeting, of course. JOURNALIST: So the trip to Italy is about the EEZ?N. KOTZIAS: As I said, it isn’t the main or sole subject of our talks, but, as I stated yesterday in Parliament, I don’t agree with the approach that says we have to delimit all the EEZs and coastal zones all at once, because it has led, 30 years later, to our not having achieved anything. From 1986 until today - 31, almost 32, years. It is better for us to support our positions one by one and extend them.JOURNALIST: Minister, last year Mr. Hahn issued the Commission’s conclusions on the subject of enlargement, but the briefing of the members of the Council of Minister of Foreign Affairs – which met a few days later – lacked depth. Did you draw his attention to the need to avoid repeating this mistake?N. KOTZIAS: In the case of enlargement, the Commission has limited criteria with regard to some states. When the Commission report came to the Council, we added the necessary criteria. For example, the report on Albania raised only the judicial issue, but this was complemented with a total of five, which are the actual issues.We want Albania to resolve these issues. We want to contribute to their resolution and we want our relations to develop. Be aware that there are other countries that, despite not raising these issues initially, are rerthinking these issues in a very strict manner – much stricter than our thinking was.JOURNALIST: Do you mean a veto?N. KOTZIAS: I’ve said what I had to say.JOURNALIST: Mr. Hahn tweeted that Greece is a key partner on the enlargement issue. Would you like to comment? It made a very positive impression on us.N. KOTZIAS: I think Mr. Hahn recognizes and attests to the reality of the situation: that our foreign policy’s role has been upgraded, that our foreign policy is proactive, and that we are not just waiting for the large states or the Commission to make decisions. Athens has a role, and not just in this sector.JOURNALIST: Minister, of late we have seen optimism regarding the name issue in both Athens and Skopje. This bears out what you said in your previous press conference: that it can and must be resolved in the first half of 2018. Now, following the first meeting with Mr. Nimetz, are you optimistic personally?N. KOTZIAS: I think we have to be a little faster in the negotiation process, so that it doesn’t drag on. In other words, the team’s decision was for the next meeting to take place at the end of January. This seems a little far off to me. We started in November. The negotiators fell ill. It is now December, and the next meeting is set for the end of January. In other words, we will be meeting again after three months. If it goes on like this, the targets they themselves have set will become more difficult to reach.JOURNALIST: Are you afraid of something?N. KOTZIAS: I have never been afraid of anything. This is well known. And I have no reason to fear anyone or anything.JOURNALIST: In an interview with the Athens News Agency, Prime Minister Zaev said he hopes and is planning to visit Athens. Do you have any information on that from the Greek Prime Minister’s office?N. KOTZIAS: I think that our Prime Minister is always open to meeting at international fora with the leaders of other countries, and especially of our northern neighbours. But an official meeting can happen only after we have moved ahead in the negotiations. The meeting must have purpose and content, even if we don’t make everything public. Because there are certain things you have to discuss with someone. But things have to move ahead for there to be meetings. In other words, if an official meeting is announced, you will know that significant progress has been made.JOURNALIST: (off microphone)N. KOTZIAS: What I said was that, when the negotiation process ends, it will take two or three months for the results to go through the UN, and then come our friendly country’s applications to the international organizations. Because, 2019 brings an election cycle. So by summer – I’m not saying six months hard and fast, maybe seven or eight months – we need to have resolved the issue. If we don’t do that, we can’t resolve it in 2019, so we’ll go for 2020. It will, therefore, be moved back. I never said that we have to resolve it now, but if they want us to resolve it and open the EU negotiation process, it has to happen now.What I always say, which is what I said to Mr. Nimetz in our meeting and in the latest talks with Mr. Hahn, is that the government and I place our hands on our hearts and say “we want a solution.” Let them respond by putting their hands on their hearts too. Because if we want a solution, it is a matter of deciding we do. It isn’t a matter of finding the right phrasing or finding a secret. It isn’t a matter of some professor coming up with a fantastic idea. At the table, we all know what the issues are, the method for solving them, what the content is.Consequently, I think we need to do this soon. But this also depends on other factors. Mainly on the state of mind in these countries, on the resolve of their leaderships to compromise. That is why, as you have seen, I always underscore that this culture, which is the European culture and is the culture of our civilization, the culture of consensus, of compromise, of good, not rotten, compromise – of good compromises, so that it is win-win for all sides. And, chiefly, so that we can escape this prison of history.We will not make a bad compromise, a ‘rotten compromise’, as I am fond of saying, and I don’t think anyone from the other side wants a rotten compromise either.JOURNALIST: I want to ask whether the subject of the election of the mufti in Thrace came up at any point during Erdogan’s visit.N. KOTZIAS: We don't discuss those kinds of things with Mr. Erdogan. For the first time, I would say, and I consider this excellent with regard to Thrace, Mr. Erdogan made the following admissions:First, he admitted that there is a Muslim population that is not of Turkish origin, but is Pomak or Roma in origin. And in fact –I can’t give you the numbers now, because I didn’t come here to talk about this– I have the sense that ten years from now the Roma will be the majority Muslim population in Northern Greece. This is, therefore, a very important admission, because it recognizes that the Roma have nothing to do with what he would like to say.The second is his statement that Turkey understands and agrees, accepts that the issue of the Muslim minority is a domestic matter, that no one can play the role of protector of the Muslim minority, and that is why he said, “We aren’t expressing a political stance. We are making a request out of our general interest in Muslim populations.”I think these two positions were extremely good, and his conduct was extremely good from this standpoint. I’m not saying from every standpoint, because the last time Mr. Erdogan came to Greece he made four speeches that hadn’t been scheduled. Turks had come from Istanbul, even the Secretary of his party, the AKP, was in Komotini. This time we didn’t have mobilisations of this kind, which is why we didn’t see such large crowds. If you look at photos from 2004, it was a different situation.Another positive thing is that he didn’t visit the villages with majority Muslim populations, as he had done the last time. He kept to the itinerary, and that’s why we didn’t see the four-hour delay we saw in 2004. As I said in Parliament yesterday, I think that, because the opposition said that what Erdogan would do in Thrace was the criterion on which the visit would be judged –they said this before everything else started– this proved to be the most coordinated and cautious official visit a Turk has paid to Thrace.And since I am often asked, “Why should they go to Thrace?”, my answer is that we have nothing to fear and nothing to hide. We are proud of the fact that in Thrace –in spite of many difficulties, with many social and economic measures needed– the Muslim minority is growing and developing, in contrast to what happened with the Greek community in Istanbul in the 1950s. I and the Prime Minister said this to Mr. Erdogan in person.JOURNALIST: Again regarding the Erdogan visit. You said in Parliament yesterday that the only change was the interview, which wasn’t given to the Athens News Agency, but to SKAI – the Turkish producer intervened, as you said. Were you informed of this by the other side, or is this based on news reports?N. KOTZIAS: We had a debate in Parliament over whether this visit was well prepared and well programmed, and I made a comparison saying that the previous visit was neither prepared –and I read out a despatch from that time– nor carried out according to schedule.The last visit was both prepared and programmed. But there was one change, which was a change that broke the agreement. What was this change? Although it had been agreed that the Greek Prime Minister would give an interview to Anadolu and the Turkish President would be interviewed by the Athens News Agency, the first part of the agreement was honoured, the second wasn’t.Our information is that, on the flight from Thrace to Istanbul, the President of the Republic of Turkey realised that he had made a mistake in listening to certain people. I conveyed this as information coming from these sources. He didn’t say it to me, but the question remains of how and why President Erdogan broke the agreement.Let me clarify something: I am not reproaching anyone for interviewing Erdogan, but the question remains. I’m not making an assessment, the fact is, he broke the agreement. Why did he break it? One wouldn’t expect it him to break it on that point, but on another –for instance, that he wouldn’t go to speak in villages in Thrace. He was disciplined on this matter, the difficult matter.This was the explanation the Turks gave. I’m not reproaching the journalist, to be clear, but the question remains. Because a shift is being attempted as to whether the visit was programmed and planned –which it proved to be in our case– while we are being criticized by those who were responsible for the 2004 visit.JOURNALIST: Minister, you and the Defence Minister, Mr. Kammenos, have come under attack from media groups and journalists recently.Can you comment a little on why you think this is happening? Because the attacks on you are at the very least ...N. KOTZIAS: Stupid – let me say it. I get the impression the opposition initially dealt with the government as transient, as it would last two or three months. Those two or three months became six, twelve months, two years. Three years in January, and it looks like it will last longer. So they are trying to find other ways to undermine or break up the governing majority, and as part of this I think they are mounting a sustained attack on Mr. Kammenos.The opposition has also seen a number of opinion polls and analyses that indicate that our current foreign policy is held in high regard by the Greek people, including supporters of the opposition – especially the patriotic wing of the opposition. It wants to stop this from spreading from the latter to the former. So foreign policy makes me a target too.The third is that it is having difficulty mounting credible opposition to our policy, so it resorts to fabrications. In other words, I observed the following process: there is no scandal – including legally; I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a legal expert, but I do have a PhD in Constitutional Law – there is no scandal without a financial transaction.Second, it based this scandal on a source that proved not to be the source. In fact, this source is from the New Democracy camp; this source that was not the source, as he initially appeared to be, through the government of Saudi Arabia or the royal family. He was a Greek who worked with the Saudi Arabian Finance Ministry. When they didn’t want him to work with them any more, he went to Britain. He decided that it was in his professional interest to return to Saudi Arabia, but a long way from being the secret informant on what a Ministerial Council is seeking.And I wouldn’t have looked into this if it hadn’t seemed a little stupid to me from the outset for someone to tell me that the royal Saudi family tells various foreigners what it wants. Anyone familiar with diplomacy knows this doesn’t happen.We asked the country’s competent authorities and they said these kinds of things don’t happen. In any case, a supposed scandal was staged, and because they themselves were convinced that it is a scandal, they then asked, “Who is responsible for the scandal?”.The same thing happened now with Erdogan. A failure of the visit was staged before it began. In other words, we are dealing with prophetic abilities, magical political abilities the opposition possesses. And when the opposition had convinced itself that the successful visit was a failure, it had to ask whose fault the failure was.This is a kind of opposition that doesn’t have to do with politics. It has to do with psychology, psychoanalysis – I am very serious about this. The attacks on me were based on the argument that Mr. Kammenos – and they linked me to Mr. Kammenos – criticized the Third Secretary -who is one rank above Attaché- in Riyadh and I didn’t defend the Foreign Ministry employee as I should have done.What I did, and you know this, is I ordered a sworn administrative inquiry (EDE) into the matter; a sworn administrative inquiry that was concluded just yesterday, and we will see its results. I also sent the case to the Prosecutor. How can I judge the actors? But, what I said in Parliament yesterday, and I want you to remember this, is that the actors who criticize me for not defending a Third Secretary who has been with the service for three or four years, have insulted and abused the highest-ranking officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The latest insult was aimed at our Ambassador in Ankara, whom they irresponsibly said gets favourable treatment from me. I don’t understand. We are talking about an Ambassador who, as I said in Parliament yesterday, stayed in Belgrade during the aerial attacks and has done nothing that shouldn’t make him proud of his stance. We are talking about an Ambassador who was, of course, shipped off to Pakistan for seven years by circles here at the Ministry, and they didn’t bring him back. We are talking about an Ambassador who is bringing us a new Embassy, who designed the wonderful confidence-building measures and who contributed to there being – after many decades – directives issued to all the Embassies. We are talking about an Ambassador who has proven himself in a variety of situations, an Ambassador who isn’t junior, and I don’t know what else ... And he is not the only one they don’t defend – the same thing has happened to high-ranking, successful Ambassadors who don’t belong to our party.It started with this story of the Ambassador and continued with the theory that “the Ministry knew everything”. The theory that “the Ministry knew everything” had two aspects. First, there was a scandal and we knew about it, and the “knew everything” presupposes that I will agree with their nonsense.And second, what they fail to see is that the despatches from the Embassy in Riyadh and the emails that I read for the first time in the press are not addressed to the Ministry. We have an amazing phenomenon here: that I read emails and despatches in newspapers, on 11 November in TA NEA, let’s say, I read it on Sunday, 12 November. I came out of the negotiations with the Albanians and flew to Brussels from Crete and there I read an email in TA NEA that I had never seen, and I looked for it, and neither I nor the competent Ministry directorate, A6, nor the Ministry itself were among the recipients. And this isn’t the only document.You can understand how this is a problem, in any case. Because the supervising authority through which all actions take place, in accordance with the Constitution, the law, the Ministry statutes, is the competent Directorate and the Minister. They should take a closer look at whom the despatches they have in their possession are addressed to.JOURNALIST: Thank you very much.N. KOTZIAS: Thank you.

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Drop Everything and Buy a $383 Round-trip Flight to Italy or GREECE

Celebrate a new year of travel by booking a cheap flight to Italy or GREECE this winter. Flights are on sale starting at $383 round-trip. Thrifty Traveler reported Tuesday the discounted tickets are available for trips taken between January and March, and later between September and November.

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Expert reassures after double northern GREECE tremor

A leading seismologist was reassuring on Tuesday that there will be “no further problems” after the wider region of Kilkis in northern GREECE was rattled by two earthquakes measuring 4 and 4.7 on the Richter scale. Efthymis Lekkas, the head of the Organization of Earthquake Planning and Protection ...

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GREECE to Implement Genetic Identification of Olive Tree Varieties

The genetic identification of Greek varieties of olive trees is about to begin in order to register all varieties, according to the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs. The aim is to create a network for targeted research into the deciphering of the genetic material of olive trees in GREECE, using ...

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GREEK PM and FM speak to FYROM leader, express optimism for solution

The government is striving to create a climate of optimism ahead of a new United Nations-mediated effort to solve a decades-old dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the Balkan state's official name, even as the two coalition partners disagree on the ...

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ON Semi Image Sensors Outfit A GREEK God

With the intent to speed and simplify deployment of image sensing solutions for automotive manufacturers and suppliers, ON joins Baidu's Apollo Autonomous Driving Platform. Apollo provides an open-source software and hardware system, enabling the efficient development of autonomous driving ...

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ATHEX: Strong start to the year on the GREEK stock market

If its first session for the year is anything to go by, the GREEK stock market can expect a great 2018, as its benchmark added 2 percent on Tuesday to its closing for 2017, reaching a new four-month high. Led by Piraeus Bank, the local bourse bucked the trend seen in the eurozone at the start of the year.

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Greek Manufacturing Achieves Highest Expanse in 9 Years

Greek manufacturing activity kept expanding in December as new orders grew at the fastest pace in over nine years, leading firms to increase hiring and production, a survey showed on Tuesday. Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing ...

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Greece Between Rock and Hard Place over Turkish Pilot Asylum

Ankara continues to bully Athens after Greece’s Supreme Court decision for the non extradition of the eight Turkish military men who sought political asylum in Alexandroupolis after the failed coup attempt in Turkey, on July 2016. The Greek court decided ...

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Greek industry and manufacturing on the rise

Manufactured goodsand industry in general are constantly growing in Greece which make analysts forsee a very good outlook for the Greek economyIt is true that the business c

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Greek Professionals to Pay Up to 75% of Income in Taxes, Contributions in 2018

Greek professionals and freelancers brace to pay up to 75 percent of their income in taxes and security contributions in the new year, as taxes and contributions go up as of January 1st, 2018. The new tax calculation system and the new method of ...

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Iran defender Hajsafi signs for Greece's Olympiakos

Iran defender Ehsan Hajsafi, who helped his country reach this year's World Cup finals, formally signed for Greek champions Olympiakos on Tuesday. Hajsafi, 27, has made 89 appearances for Iran and scored six goals for his country. At club level he played ...

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Greece brought to a standstill as workers go on general strike

… public and private sectors brought Greece to a standstill on Thursday … offensive Panos said “Next year Greece will return to borrowing on … in Brussels and used the Greek government as an example of …

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Interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias, with journalist V. Skouris in Sunday’s “Real News” (17 December 2017)

JOURNALIST: What moves are you expecting Tayyip Erdogan to make to justify his visit to Athens and impart momentum to Greek-Turkish relations?N. KOTZIAS: The visit itself helped to set Greek-Turkish relations within a more systematic framework, because difficulties had arisen due to the whole situation in Turkey following the attempted coup. A number of agreements beneficial to both countries were concluded. There is one more side to this. A few days ago I was in Korea. I asked the leadership there what their biggest problem is with North Korea, and their answer, which impressed me, was, “the lack of communication.” In difficult situations, channels of communication are the ‘alpha and omega’ for keeping a mistake or an accident from leading to a deterioration in relations.JOURNALIST: Can you give us a few examples of the agreements that were reached?N. KOTZIAS: The Erdogan visit had direct results, and there is no need for us to justify it in hindsight. We agreed on the date for the G2G meeting in Thessaloniki, as well as on the preparatory meetings on all levels, and many meetings were held leading up to the visit itself. We agreed to reopen the exploratory talks. The way to handle the formulation of military ‘confidence-building’ measures. An interesting agreement was reached on the migration issue, which may help us relieve the crowding on the islands. We agreed on the joint promotion of major projects and development of the transport networks between the two countries. And we agreed to develop cooperation between universities and research centres, and many other things that the opposition chooses to ignore so that it talk nonsense.JOURNALIST: Will the Treaty of Lausanne be revised? Is Greece discussing the possibility of amendments to some points of the Treaty? And why do you think Ankara persists in this stance?N. KOTZIAS: I think we saw Mr. Erdogan make an interesting adaptation to his position in the course of his visit. From revision to updating. I think he has the eastern side of Turkey more in mind when he thinks about these issues. What interests me is that, for the first time, the Turkish President officially stated that Turkey makes no claims on Greek territory.JOURNALIST: What is your response to Tayyip Erdogan’s asking that the Muslims of Western Thrace be allowed to elect their chief mufti? Can the Turkish President pose as the guarantor of the minority’s rights?N. KOTZIAS: The Prime Minister made it clear, once again, to the Turkish President – who accepted this – that the members of the Muslim minority are Muslim Greeks. We are taking a number of social and economic measures that will improve the lives of the Greeks of Thrace – Christians and Muslims – as well as the organization of the muftis. More specifically with regard to the latter, Turkish diplomacy is making proposals regarding the Greek muftis, but it has no say in the matter. It proposes the promotion of something that doesn’t even happen in Turkey itself, while its own muftis do not perform judicial duties. As the Turkish President admitted during the talks, he expressed a “request” and not a political position.JOURNALIST: Some people wonder why every Turkish official visits Thrace?N. KOTZIAS: I think it would be totally pointless to prohibit someone from visiting Thrace. It would show weakness and fear. We don’t have such feelings, and our policy has self-confidence and a perspective for the region. What happened under New Democracy didn’t happen to us. Under New Democracy, Erdogan made four speeches, while it had been agreed there would be none, and nor were his wanderings in Komotini, accompanied by thousands of people, agreed upon, with the result that his itinerary was delayed by four hours.JOURNALIST: The talks with Skopje have started again. What are the requirements for a successful outcome, Minister? Is there any chance Greece will accept fYROM’s joining NATO under its provisional name?N. KOTZIAS: On 6 December we had a discussion in NATO on the Alliance’s relations with the Western Balkan states. What I told my colleagues is that they shouldn’t create the impression that fYROM can join NATO –assuming fYROM wants to join– without a culture of compromise and consensus, without complying with NATO’s decisions regarding fYROM. That by telling Skopje what it wants to hear, some people are keeping fYROM from promptly realising the truth.JOURNALIST: Under what conditions might there be a package solution with Albania, and when?N. KOTZIAS: We need to be honest with one another; I am. We need to really mean what we say; I do. To not look back at yesterday or only at the domestic climate; to look to tomorrow and consider the international political stage. In January, we will meet in Korçë, and I hope we will continue the positive steps we have been taking for some time now; steps that picked up a lot of momentum at the meeting in Crete.JOURNALIST: Do you think we can delimit the EEZs with Egypt, Italy and Albania within 2018?N. KOTZIAS: We’ll see. I hope we can, and we are working in that direction. But it isn’t up us alone. It depends on third countries, their external environs and their domestic tensions. We certainly have to be serious, sober and patient, resolute and well prepared.JOURNALIST: When should the Cyprus talks resume, in your opinion? On what basis and timeframe?N. KOTZIAS: Only if the conditions we set in November 2016 are met. Many ignored those conditions, but we were proved right. During the preparations for Erdogan’s visit to Greece, there were positive steps in one direction, because we agreed that the necessary discussions have to take place before we go to a new conference.JOURNALIST: The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) persists in saying there is a risk of war in the region, and that Greece might be involved. Do you agree with this view?N. KOTZIAS: There is instability and insecurity in our region. Our foreign policy is designed to foster peace and stability. My old comrades have been questioning this for three years. They say we don’t go where we go with these goals in mind, but to “promote war the investments of the bourgeoisie.” I think they overestimate and are in awe of Greece’s bourgeoisie. If we had a bourgeoisie that could make investments in dozens of countries, we wouldn’t have the kind of capitalism we have today.JOURNALIST: What concerns you, Minister, ahead of the talks on the changes in the eurozone?N. KOTZIAS: That we are discussing one change or another, that we support one specific proposal or another, but we aren’t looking at the main issue: the fact that the eurozone and its institutional system are a parallel system outside the treaties. It took us fifty years to implement the steps for the democratization of the EU, and then monetary policy and related matters were set outside this relatively democratized system. The European Parliament does not even participate in eurozone procedures. So, the main thing is for the eurozone to be placed in the framework of the treaties, with control and initiatives from the European Parliament and with equality among the member states. That is why, I think, Greece’s recent initiative for discussion of such issues jointly with nine other EU member states was a great initiative.JOURNALIST: Do you think Panos Kammenos is “clean” in the munitions sales case? And if so, why don’t you accept New Democracy’s proposal that an investigation committee be set up?N. KOTZIAS: New Democracy employed its usual tactics: it fabricates a non-existent case, it bases it on a source that proved to be on the ‘outside’ of things but close to New Democracy itself. It did the same thing with the Erdogan visit. Before the visit even started, New Democracy, Pasok and the extreme right, led by the ex-king, discovered it was a failure. When they had discovered the non-existent scandal and the non-existent failure – and they still haven’t explained why it was a failure – they started assigning blame. But when cases are non-existent, what is the point of assigning blame?JOURNALIST: The opposition also accuses you personally of compromising the country’s interests, insisting that munitions were supplied to ISIS terrorists ...N. KOTZIAS: New Democracy would do well to stop thinking of foreign policy as the rehashing of the various kinds of falsehoods published in the pro-New Democracy media. Let me remind you of the cases of the Czech Republic and Spain. These countries apologized to us, and New Democracy denigrated us for taking measures. Was it hearing things when it came to the results of Tsipras’ trip to the U.S., but when its own officials went to talk to low-ranking officials at the U.S. Department of State ... silence? New Democracy’s foreign policy is one of irresponsibility. It practices foreign policy with its head in the sand, or, more accurately, in the mud of domestic politics. Regarding Daesh, you are referring to a case that dates back to 2012-2014, so it’s up to them tell us if it’s true or not.JOURNALIST: The New Democracy Conference comes to a close today. How do you characterize it as a political party?N. KOTZIAS: It is a right-wing party with extreme-right pitchmen. Today, unlike other times, it does not think or reflect on itself enough. Of course this doesn’t go for all of its ranks. But it is the dominant trend. A trend that did not incorporate any positive characteristics the popular Right might have had.JOURNALIST: And the Movement for Change? What do you think of the initial indications since Fofi Gennimata took the reins?N. KOTZIAS: They have to decide on exactly what they want to be. An offshoot of New Democracy? Servants to interests? Exponents of popular interests? They need to decide whom they will side with and whom they will leave behind. Right now, the dominant discourse they are putting out is that of the old professional politicians and the fellow travellers of New Democracy, of the people of yesterday, who think they are the “new thing”. I was surprised that, in the recent debate on foreign policy, their parliamentary spokesperson went along with many of Golden Dawn’s positions.JOURNALIST: Do you see similarities between them?N. KOTZIAS: I have observed that on foreign policy they often put forward the same baseless arguments. Their goal is to undermine the acceptance our foreign policy has found with the vast majority of the Greek people. Their problem is that the personal attacks on me and their lies cannot make up for the absence of substance in their foreign policy. What concerns me is that I see that the main opposition party, lacking a plan or programme, is holding up the new isolationism and inertia as the highest of principles. As for the term new patriotism, which they have been using of late, it is a term that I introduced into the conversation in the 1990s, but with substantial content, not hot air.

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Greek PM Alexis Tsipras: Elections to be held at end of term in 2019

Greek PM gives interview to Real FM radio

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Toronto's Greek community serenade Giannis Antetokounmpo after Raptors game

It’s a 13-hour flight from Toronto to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s hometown of Athens, Greece. But after the New Year’s Day game at Air Canada Centre, fans made the Milwaukee Bucks star feel right at home. As part of Greek Heritage Night for the Toronto ...

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Ghetto in GREECE

A small army of immigration experts was promised to help GREECE process asylum applications, but did not materialise. Then, six weeks ago, the number of migrants risking the crossing from Turkey surged four-fold as civilians seized their chance to flee Mosul and Raqqa after years of terrible misrule by ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thetimes.co.uk

Trilateral summit between Cyprus, GREECE and Israel postponed

Before the postponement was made public, Cyprus, GREECE and Israel announced they would sign an agreement designed to combat marine pollution during the summit. Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nicos Kouyialis described the deal as “significant” for the ...

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Measles Outbreaks in England & GREECE Prompt CDC to Issue Travel Watch

The “CDC recommends that travelers to England/GREECE protect themselves by making sure they are vaccinated against measles with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine,” the travel notice reads. “Before departure from the United States, infants (6 through 11 months of age) should have 1 ...

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CMA CGM institutes ‘emergency’ Greek port congestion surcharge

All cargo transiting the Greek port of Thessaloniki will be assessed the surcharge, including dry, reefer, out of gauge (OOG) and breakbulk, the French ocean carrier said in a statement. Increased operational costs and service disruptions generated by ...

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Letter to the Editor: A Different Kind of Abuse

Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, etc.) would be surprised to know that there exists a spiritual, emotional, and psychological abuse […] The post Letter to the Editor: A Different Kind of Abuse appeared first on The National Herald.

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Greek Jewish Board Condemns Rabbi’s “Unacceptable” Comments on Anarchist Group

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) condemned on Tuesday as “unacceptable and provocative” the controversial comments of a rabbi who attacked the […] The post Greek Jewish Board Condemns Rabbi’s “Unacceptable” Comments on Anarchist Group appeared first on The National Herald.

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GX FTSE GREECE 20 ETF (GREK) Shares in Focus as They Run -0.29% Lower For the Week

G-X FTSE GREECE 20 ETF (GREK) has ended the week in the red, yielding negative results for the shares at they ticked -0.29%. In taking a look at recent performance, we can see that shares have moved 12.10% over the past 4-weeks, 1.68% over the past half year and 33.51% over the past full year.

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Two light tremors shake area of Kilkis in northern GREECE

Two light tremors shook the area of Kilkis early on Tuesday, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, ANA reports. The first one measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale took place at 00:13. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 28 kilometres north-west of Kilkis and the second one, at 06:24, was ...

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Retro Restaurant and Piano Bar Debuts in Midtown West

Over in Tribeca, Greca from the people behind The GREEK has opened at 452 Washington Street, offering both savory GREEK food as well as breads and pastries. And in the East Village is the second location of Frisson Espresso (36 Third Avenue), a coffee shop with espresso and matcha drinks, plus ...

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GREEK fish exports to Portugal remained strong in 2016

During 2016, the value of GREEK exports of fish to Portugal totaled 42.6 million euros, or 2.0 pct of total imports in the country and accounted for 22 pct of GREEK exports to Portugal. Fish is the main category of GREEK exports to Portual, mainly fresh bream and sea bass from fish farming (Greece is the ...

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11 GREEK ex-bar association presidents defend asylum ruling for Turkish officer

Eleven former bar association presidents from across Greece on Monday, New Year's Day, issued a joint statement calling on the Tsipras government to respect last week's decision by an independent judicial committee to grant political asylum to one of eight Turkish servicemen that arrived in the ...

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GREEK PMI reached nine-and-a-half year highs in December

Business conditions in the GREEK manufacturing sector improved in December at the fastest rate since June 2008, IHS Markit said in a report released on Tuesday, according to ANA. The report stressed that new order grew at the fastest rate in the the last nine-and-a-half years, with production recording ...

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Mythos GREEK and Six More Chicago Restaurant Closures to Know

EDGEBROOK— After five years, Ivy's Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Fries is closed at 5419 W. Devon Avenue. Yelp users say it's closed, and a LTHForum member posted that signs for a new restaurant, Ruk Sushi Thai, have gone up. It's unclear if this is a new location for the Jefferson Park restaurant or a ...

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Series of mild to moderate earthquakes rattles Macedonia

Macedonia's National Seismological Observatory says the strongest earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 and struck at 5:24 a.m. local time (0324 GMT), 145 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the capital, Skopje, in the Dojran area near the border with GREECE. The quake, which occurred at a ...

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Series of mild to moderate earthquakes rattles Macedonia

Macedonia's National Seismological Observatory says the strongest earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 and struck at 5:24 a.m. local time (0324 GMT), 145 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the capital, Skopje, in the Dojran area near the border with GREECE. The quake, which occurred at a ...

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Chick-fil-A announces spring target for GREECE restaurant opening

The GREECE restaurant will be the second Chick-fil-A to open in Western New York, according to the company. The first upstate Chick-fil-A is scheduled to open in Cicero, outside Syracuse, next month. The openings are to be followed with two more standalone restaurants planned top open in Buffalo and ...

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Sources: GREECE does not welcome suspects in coup attempts

"GREECE has a responsibility. We respect the international treaties to protect the rights, but that does not mean that we welcome people suspected of having participated in a coup d' etat attempt. These people are not welcome. The Greek justice is now responsible for this case," according to government ...

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PM Netanyahu postpones summit meeting with presidents of GREECE, Cyprus due to supermarket ...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone a trip to Cyprus originally slated for next Monday for a trilateral meeting with the presidents of GREECE and Cyprus. Netanyahu postponed the meeting due to the delayed vote on the supermarket bill in the Knesset plenum. The Prime Minister's ...

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California legalises cannabis: is Europe next?

Looking to join that club is GREECE, which sees the potential financial benefits of legalising marijuana as a partial solution to its economic crisis. Last summer Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was bringing forward legislation allowing its use for medical purposes. According to The Independent, ...

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Refugee Relief

Amidst picturesque backdrops overlooking the Aegean Sea, GREECE and the Greek islands are world-renowned for their luxury resorts and hotels. But, on the northern end of GREECE along the Turkey border, it's a much different scene. “It's a humanitarian disaster – people sleeping outside in tents in the ...

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Travel agencies boss: Domestic tourism revives in GREECE

Domestic tourism has recovered and given breather to areas of GREECE that used to be absent from the famous destination lists over the previous years. One of this areas is Kalavryta, in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, the head of the tourist agencies of western GREECE ...

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Cyprus, GREECE, Israel to sign agreement on marine pollution

Cyprus, GREECE and Israel have announced they will sign an agreement next week designed to combat marine pollution. Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nicos Kouyialis described the deal as “significant” for the respective countries and the region. The agreement, as ...

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Texas State College Halts GREEK Life After Fraternity Pledge Dies

Texas State University in San Marcos has after a 20-year-old fraternity pledge was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive at an off-campus apartment. Matthew McKinley Ellis, who was pledging to the university's Phi Kappa Psi chapter, was found at the Millennium Apartments, less than two ...

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Misunderstanding the GREEK-American lobby

On behalf of the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), I take strong exception to Alexis Papachelas's December 20 column, “Hellenism in America at a crossroads.” In his flawed attempt to assess the GREEK-American lobby's role, Mr Papachelas demonstrates a lack of understanding of what transpires in ...

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Thomas Cook to open new Prime hotel in Kos in 2018

The 3rd prime hotel of Thomas Cook in Greece

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Greek-American Harry Wilson Will Not Run for NY Governor

NEW YORK – Greek-American Harry Wilson announced Monday that he’s not running for New York Governor, even he was considered until recently the GOP’s best shot to unseat the […] The post Greek-American Harry Wilson Will Not Run for NY Governor appeared first on The National Herald.

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German, Bulgarian Tourist Couple Found Dead on Kefalonia

ATHENS (AP) — Greek authorities say a young tourist couple has been found dead in a house they were renting on a western island, with […] The post German, Bulgarian Tourist Couple Found Dead on Kefalonia appeared first on The National Herald.

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2018 Will Be the Year of Greece, PM Tsipras Says

“2018 will be the year of Greece,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday said in an interview with RealFm 97.8. “The worst you can do […] The post 2018 Will Be the Year of Greece, PM Tsipras Says appeared first on The National Herald.

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