Latest Macedonian Press News

[akritas]

RIES: HISTORY CANNOT CHANGE
Thessaloniki, 2 December 2005 (18:14 UTC+2)
MPA

There is nothing done by my government that can change the history and the great civilization that existed here, stated US ambassador to Athens Charles Ries responding to a question by ANA-MPA after his visit to the Vergina Museum accepting an invitation by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis.

My government recognized the nation living north of this country to preserve its stability as a multiethnic state, said Mr. Ries, reiterating that the United States continue to support "the UN effort for a mutually acceptable name Greece and Macedonia will use both in bilateral and international relations". If there is agreement on any other name we will respect it, stated Mr. Ries, stressing that he did not visit the museum for policy reasons but to pay homage to history.

On his part, Mr. Tsiartsionis stated that the Greek Macedonia of culture is an unchanging reality that has no relation to what is being claimed today expressing joy because through this visit Mr. Ries had the opportunity to better understand history.

The US ambassador signed the guest book commenting that it is an exciting museum dedicated to one of the greatest kings of antiquity and thanked the Ministry of Culture for the excellent preservation of the exhibits. He pointed out that he enjoyed the visit and vowed to return with his family. He also said that he was impressed by the priceless findings exhibited in the museum. Standing next to the remains of those people is like recapturing the history of Phillip II and his assassination, said Mr. Ries.

Mr. Tsiartsionis wrote in the guest book that the Greeks of Macedonia are an integral part of the Greek civilization.

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

If I understand the diplomat correctly, he recognized the Macedonia of antiquity as being Greek. However, this falls far short of what is needed. The fact remains a foreign government (Skopje) is laying claim to Greek culture, heritage, history, etc... not to mention territorial expansionist claims. Unfortunately, this American diplomat's visit falls short in the grand scheme of things, but if he did indeed recognize Macedonia as Hellenic, this is a good start.

[Makedonia25]

Skopje. The EU Parliament supports Macedonia’s candidacy for EU membership, the Macedonian television channel A1 reported. Despite this fact, the hesitations regarding EU’s decision, which is to be announced on December 15th, are great. Denmark, Holland and France have reservations. These three countries play a decisive role for EU enlargement, especially in a moment when the EU leads serious debates regarding budget.
Macedonia’s Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski and Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva launched a diplomatic offensive in Europe. However, Macedonia’s state officials remain under pressure and uncertain of the future, A1 commented.

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=123&newsid=78095&ch=0 uncertain of the future, A1 commented.

[akritas]

Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Nikos Tsiartsionis received Australian ambassador to Athens Paul Tighe today.

Mr. Tighe, on a ceremonial visit to Thessaloniki, discussed with Mr. Tsiartsionis the latest developments on the issue of the FYROM name with which the Australian government is particularly concerned due to the fact that Australia is the home for large communities of immigrants from Greece and FYROM.

On the occasion of his visit, the Australian ambassador expressed concern because the big delays in the Thrace goldmines' investment, in which important Australian interests are involved, are likely to create a climate of caution among Australian investors interested in investing in Greece.

The delays are the result of the objections raised by environmentalist organizations maintaining that the project will affect environment in a negative way.

Thessaloniki, 7 December 2005 (15:22 UTC+2)
MPA

[akritas]

Thessaloniki mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos sent letters addressed to Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis on the issue of the FYROM name communicating to them the resolution on FYROM approved last night by the Thessaloniki City Council.

The mayor of Thessaloniki will send similar letters to all European leaders and Foreign Ministers as well as to all mayors in Macedonia, north Greece.

The Thessaloniki City Council resolution on FYROM was approved yesterday by majority vote.

With the resolution sponsored by mayor Papageorgopoulos, the Thessaloniki City Council calls on the Greek government to exercise its veto right to every FYROM effort to enter the EU and NATO and if necessary to resort to a referendum on whether it should exercise its veto power to the accession process.

It was clarified that the referendum should take place in case international pressures are exerted on Greece against using its veto power.

In the resolution it is stressed that FYROM systematically violates the 1995 interim agreement, and ignores the UN Security Council and EU decisions.

The resolution points out that the FYROM state monopolizes the name of Macedonia for expansionist reasons, refuses in spite of being legally bound internationally to accept a mutually acceptable name and in every opportunity it gets it declares that it won't change its stance. Also, it usurps the Greek History and cultural heritage and exercises an irredentist propaganda against Greek Macedonia, while it preserves its hostile propaganda by including it in school books.

The Thessaloniki City Council through the resolution it approved yesterday issues an appeal to the Greek political parties, media, academic community, the young and all the Greeks in general, as well as the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, SAE, and all expatriates to support actively and united the Greek interests that are being under attack and the proposed policy on the specific issue.

The Thessaloniki City Council meeting attended representatives of Pan-Macedonian Associations.

Thessaloniki, 9 December 2005 (16:15 UTC+2)
MPA

[akritas]

The former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia appeared on Monday to be the first country to become a victim of the EU's enlargement fatigue, as France blocked a decision to grant it official EU candidate member status.

more in
http://euobserver.com/9/20529

[Makedonia25]

Well thats very interesting now isnt it??? :rolleyes:

And they thought we would be the only ones blocking them :killme:

[goldblood]

im so upset that FYROM was blocked :D :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[nsminc]

Poor skops!

[admin]

The former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia appeared on Monday to be the first country to become a victim of the EU's enlargement fatigue, as France blocked a decision to grant it official EU candidate member status.

more in
http://euobserver.com/9/20529

:laugh: that is what happens when you crap on your ONLY friend Greece, yes sadly Greece in the EU...

[Makedonia25]

SKOPJE, Macedonia Readers browsing the back pages of Macedonia's daily newspapers often come across small ads labeled "Bulgarian Passport." They promise quick processing of applications for Bulgarian citizenship.

The companies are doing brisk business. More than 21,000 Macedonians have applied since 2001, according to the Bulgarian government. Nearly 7,000 have been awarded citizenship and thousands more seem sure of success: Ethnic Macedonians account for two-thirds of the country's population of 2 million, speak a language similar to Bulgarian and are entitled to passports.

Macedonians once looked down on Bulgaria as a lowly neighbor, but now they envy it - because Bulgaria is due to join the European Union just over a year from now.

The rush for passports demonstrates the level of anxiety here that the admission of Macedonia to the 25-nation bloc may be a long time coming.

The country's prospects took a step forward in November when the European Commission recommended that membership negotiations begin. But this week, with the matter due to be debated at EU summit talks in Brussels, new doubts arose after France said more discussion on future expansion was needed before talks on Macedonian membership could begin.

Any prospect of delay sets alarm bells ringing here. Macedonia, like other parts of former Yugoslavia, was consumed by ethnic conflict for most of the 1990s. Reformists across the region argue that EU membership is necessary not just to further political and economic development, but also as a guarantee of stability. European and American diplomats agree, warning that in a region still dominated by nationalists, ethnic tensions could be revived if membership recedes.

Macedonia may face another hurdle. The trans-Atlantic dispute over CIA use of East European states to transport or detain suspected members of Al Qaeda may have damaged its prospects, at least in the short term: The Macedonian government appears to have been complicit in the abduction of a Lebanese-born German, Khaled al Masri, who was abducted by the CIA and flown to Afghanistan. Senior European Commission officials have warned that countries involved in extrajudicial detention could see their applications for EU membership set back.

On paper at least, the region seems inexorably headed toward integration with Europe. It was agreed in October that negotiations on membership could begin with Turkey and Croatia. And Serbia and Bosnia have started talks on closer economic and political ties.

Accession to the EU has been the ultimate goal of Macedonia's government since a seven-month conflict between state security forces and an insurgency led by ethnic Albanians took the country to the brink of civil war in 2001.

Since then, former ethnic Albanian guerrillas have shared power in a government with the Social Democratic Party, led by ethnic Macedonians. Coaxed by a small team of EU diplomats, they have undertaken reforms aimed at giving increased rights to ethnic Albanians and other minorities.

EU accession is seen by both groups as a means of further securing the state from separatists bent on creating a breakaway Albanian state.

Macedonian government ministers argue that membership would also be a model for a region recovering from ethnic conflict.

"Macedonia is a living example of what can happen: If you deliver, there is progress," said Radmila Sekerinska, Macedonia's deputy prime minister.

"If you are a complicated ethnic mix, it does not mean you are doomed to conflict," Sekerinska added.

But many politicians fear that the accession process could be drawn out over many years as the 25-member Union looks to curb spending and possibly slow enlargement.

"We have seen the change not only in member states, but also in Brussels circles," Sekerinska said. Commission officials, she said, have warned that the accession process could slow down.

Suggestions that Turkish accession could take 10 years have prompted concern among politicians here.

"The doors have to be open before then," said Ali Ahmeti, a former guerrilla commander who led the 2001 ethnic Albanian insurgency and whose party serves in the government.

"We want to know specifically what we have to do" to gain membership, he said. "I want the process to be more transparent."

Diplomats warn that any ambiguity about Macedonia's membership prospects could be detrimental to the peace process. A senior Western official cited the damage caused by NATO's decision this year to delay its next summit until 2008, effectively postponing membership applications by Macedonia, Albania and Croatia by two years.

"The NATO decision was very unfortunate," said the official, who is not authorized to give statements to the press and requested anonymity.

Sekerinska acknowledged that Macedonia needed to merit membership but said that failure to sustain momentum would both undermine reform and allow nationalists to crow that Europe never truly cared about the region.

"I can only imagine how some of the populists in Belgrade would feel - they would just gloat," she said. "They will say, 'We told you so."'

[Makedonia25]

Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stilianidis in a speech at the Joint War College in Thessaloniki referred to the stance of the Greek government toward FYROM and Turkey and to alternative forms of diplomacy.

Mr. Stilianidis met with College commander Dimitris Kourkoulis and was briefed on its operation. A total of 217 armed forces' officers and 3 security forces' officers study at the army school, among them 16 Cypriots and 6 from Albania, the Serb Republic of Bosnia, Montenegro, Tunisia and the United States.

On FYROM, Mr. Stilianidis stated that Greece has showed its goodwill by stating that it will accept a mutually acceptable solution and at the same time, it has set its limits. He said that Greece showed that it is not dogmatic and truly supports FYROM's Euro-Atlantic orientation, adding that FYROM should realize that the historical and cultural term Macedonia is non negotiable.

On Turkey, he said that Greece supports its European prospect, stressing that the EU does not bargain away principles and values. He said that Turkey has an opportunity in its hands. The Turkish leadership has to respect human and minority rights, adopt friendly neighborly relations and seek ways to adjust to the European acquis. If all these are done, the way to Europe will be open before it. In a different case, the Turkish leadership will be responsible for undermining the European prospect of the Turkish people, said Mr. Stilianidis.

Mr. Stilianidis stated that the two new pylons on which the Greek foreign policy is based are development cooperation and aid and economic diplomacy.

The goal is to build bridges between markets and consolidate peace through economic cooperation while strengthening Greece's negotiating ability in the international environment. Greece's role in this area, the Balkans, Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, is leading and absolutely stabilizing, stressed Mr. Stilianidis.

Greece is among the leaders at global level in the sector of international development cooperation and assistance. It was dynamically present in cases of natural disaster or reconstruction efforts (SE Asia, Pakistan, Russia, sub-Saharan Africa, New Orleans). It is present in 46 countries building schools, hospitals, helping the poor.

In the sector of economic diplomacy the goals are three: increase exports, increase Greek business activity internationally and attract new investments to Greece.

For the first time this year after many years, Greece achieved over 12% increase in exports and great mobility has been recorded in the sector of foreign investments in Greece.

The government activated the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB). Increased its absorption rate from 2.4% to 10.5% and hopefully this year it will be further increased. The first major projects in the Balkans have already begun to materialize notably by companies in north Greece.

According to figures presented, Greece occupies the top place regarding foreign investments in Albania, FYROM, and Serbia-Montenegro, the second place among foreign investors in Bulgaria and the third in Romania.

[akritas]

EU Leaders have agreed to make the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia a candidate to join the bloc.But its entry will have to await a broader debate on how far the bloc should enlarge.

The FYROM Prime Minister, Vlado Buckovski, has been praised for making what EU leaders call "significant progress" towards meeting the union's political and economic criteria.

The EU took in ten new member states last year and is due to take in Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 or 2008 which is why EU leaders made clear that any further enlargement must depend on a wide debate across Europe.

Nevertheless, the deal is a major step for FYROM, which was on the brink of civil war four years ago before an EU-mediated power-sharing agreement with its Albanian minority.

source:
www.euronews.com (http://www.euronews.com)

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia euphoric after EU decision on candidate status
19/12/2005

Exultant Macedonians took to the streets at the weekend to hail the decision by EU leaders to grant their country official candidate status.
By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje - 19/12/05


Macedonians celebrated in Skopje on Saturday (17 December) after the country received EU member candidate status. [Tomislav Georgiev]

A celebratory mood has prevailed throughout Macedonia in the past days, following the EU's decision to grant the country candidate status. The heads of state and government of EU member nations made the decision in Brussels in the early hours of Saturday (17 December), following an intense debate over budgetary and enlargement issues.

The news triggered euphoria in Skopje. A huge crowd gathered in the main city square for an official celebration. While the festivities were organised by the government, opposition leaders also participated.

"We have got a clear recognition of what we have achieved and of the progress made in the past period," President Branko Crvenkovski told his fellow citizens. At the same time, he cautioned that the decision "also means enormous responsibility for us to continue with even greater dedication along the same course and towards the same goal".

Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski hailed what he described as a new page in Macedonian history. However, he added, "Candidate status is not a magic stick that will immediately solve all the issues the citizens are concerned with, and in particular those relating economy and life quality."

"Be assured that experience of other countries where investments increased and business conditions improved will be repeated with us," Buckovski said.

Meanwhile, the international community has expressed congratulations.

European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso noted that Macedonia was on the edge of civil war just a few years ago. Candidate status is an acknowledgment of all it has achieved since then, he said.

US Ambassador to Macedonia Gillian A. Milovanovic also congratulated the Macedonian government.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn explained that the EC did not propose a date for the start of negotiations, as that depends on the capacity of Macedonia to implement the membership criteria. Nevertheless, the EU has thus given a clear signal for European prospects to the countries throughout the Western Balkans, Rehn said.

In granting candidate status, the EU leaders also included wording that specifies the move does not automatically imply membership negotiations.

"The European Council makes clear that further steps will have to be considered in the light of the debate on the enlargement strategy. The absorption capacity of the Union also has to be taken into account," the leaders said.

However, Macedonian leaders anticipate the start of negotiations in a year's time. By then, the EU will have completed a planned review of the enlargement process, and Macedonia will have had time to implement the EC's recommendations. The election planned for November 2006 will give Skopje an opportunity to demonstrate the country's ability to hold a free and fair vote.

"The EU vision is a united Europe," British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters after the decision was announced. "Macedonia is an important part of that vision," he added.


http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2005/12/19/feature-01

[Makedonia25]

And surprise surprise! :rolleyes:

Bulgaria Hails EU Decision to Grant Macedonia Candidate Status

19.12.2005

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria hails the decision of the European Council for granting Macedonia EU candidate country status, according to a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Monday.
The decision is an assessment of the progress made by Macedonia over the past years thanks to the political and public consensus on the country's European prospect, the press release says.

Bulgaria has assisted and will continue to support Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic future, the statement reads.

In the light of the Commission's analysis, the European Council decides to grant candidate country status to Macedonia, taking into account, in particular, the substantial progress made in completing the legislative framework related to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, as well as its track record in implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (including its trade-related provisions) since 2001.

The European Council has welcomed the significant progress made by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia towards meeting the political criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 and the Stabilisation and Association Process requirements established by the Council in 1997.

http://www.evroportal.bg/article_view.php?id=729682

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia gets nod, but no date, from summit

In Short:

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been given candidate status by EU leaders, although no date has been set for the start of membership talks with the Balkans state.

RELATED

EU-Western Balkans relations
Brief News:

The 15-16 December Brussels summit participants spoke highly of FYROM's "significant progress" in fulfilling the political and economic criteria for EU membership, but they said that there was much more work to be done "on the basis of specific benchmarks". The country's entry has been linked to a future debate among the EU-25 on the Union's future and its ability to absorb more newcomers. Accordingly, it may take years before Skopje actually opens membership talks.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski commented that it was an "enormous success of our country and for our people". Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that "this decision is also the right political signal to send to the region of the Western Balkans as a whole: the EU has given a clear European perspective to these countries, provided they fulfill the conditions".

FYROM established diplomatic relations with the EU in 1995, and Skopje submitted its application for membership of the Union on 22 March 2004 in Dublin. In April 2001, FYROM was the first country in the Balkans region to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The EU's CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation) programme [whose full financial envelope for 2000-2006 is 5.13 billion euros] earmarked 40 million euros to FYROM in 2006.

Greece, meanwhile, continues to demand that the country officially change its name from Macedonia to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, arguing that 'Macedonia' implies territorial claims on the northern Greek province of the same name.

http://www.euractiv.com/Article?tcmuri=tcm:29-151051-16&type=News

[Makedonia25]

US applauds Macedonia’s EU candidate status
21/12/2005

(Washington, DTT-NET.COM)- US government has applauded EU’s decision to grant to Macedonia the candidate status for membership at 25-nation bloc but called on local authorities to further step up reforms necessary for integration into NATO and EU.

“The United States welcomes the decision by the European Council of Ministers to grant Macedonia candidate status for the European Union. We congratulate the government and people of Macedonia for the tremendous progress the country has made in the last four years.” US state department spokesperson Sean McCormack said.

Leaders of 25-nation bloc at a Summit meeting of last week agreed to grant Macedonia the status of candidate country for EU membership but the start of the entry talks for the Balkan country will be on stand-by for the time being as France wants to open debate with its European partners on the frontiers of the bloc.

“Although much work remains to be done, attaining candidate status is an important milestone on Macedonia's road to membership in the EU. We urge the government of Macedonia to redouble its efforts to implement the judicial, economic, electoral and other reforms needed to realize their country's full integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions “, the spokesperson said. He added that “The EU decision sends a positive message not only to Macedonia but to all countries of the Balkans that their future lies in a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.

He also said that “it's important for the future prosperity of the European continent and also adds to global prosperity by bringing those others who may have been left behind into the EU.”

“We think that a strong EU, a vibrant EU, an expanding EU, is good for Europe and good for the world.” McCormack told reporters in Washington.

http://www.dtt-net.com/en/index.php?page=view-article&article=1007&CMSSESSID=47698623933c0bfa758df2511a3ebf3b

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia Will Be Ready For EU Membership After 2010 - PM
STOCKHOLM (AP)--Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski said Tuesday he thinks his country will be ready to join the European Union early next decade, and that E.U. concerns about enlargement shouldn't affect Macedonia.

E.U. leaders last week accepted Macedonia as a candidate, linking its entry to a debate on the bloc's future and its ability to absorb more relatively poor newcomers.

Buckovski, who met with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson in Stockholm Tuesday, said Europeans are mainly concerned about Turkey becoming a member, not the smaller Balkan states.

"Turkey will be crucial for the enlargement process, not a small country like Macedonia," Buckovski said.

If the E.U. enlargement proceeds on schedule, with Romania and Bulgaria joining in 2007, Macedonia should be ready to join "in the beginning of the next decade," he said.

Macedonia officially applied to join in March 2004.

Last month, the European Commission recommended making Macedonia an E.U. candidate, widening the union's embrace of the Balkans to make the bloc's volatile southeastern rim more secure.

Persson said he had congratulated Buckovski on his country's candidate status, and said Macedonia has undergone significant political and economic reforms since a Western-brokered peace deal ended six months of fighting in 2001.

"That is something...for other countries to be inspired by," Persson said.

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2005/02269.html

[akritas]

40 US CONGRESS MEMBERS CALL ON FYROM TO COMPROMISE ON THE NAME ISSUE
Washington, 23 December 2005 (15:31 UTC+2)

Mobilization in the US Congress on the issue of the FYROM name continues. In a letter written by Greek American Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) and strong supporter of Greek positions Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), cosigned by 40 US Congress members, the FYROM government is called to stop the negative nationalist propaganda and work with the UN and Greece to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the FYROM name.

Among those cosigning the letter is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), leading member of the Foreign Relations Committee, who recently sent a personal letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the issue.

The members of the US Congress also call on FYROM to respect the provisions of article 7 of the interim agreement signed by Athens and Skopje in September 1995 and make steps to terminate the dissemination of negative propaganda against Greece and proceed with the reexamination of the contents of books, maps and teaching textbooks to ensure that they offer correct information

source:
MPA

[akritas]

STATE OF ALERT

A state of alert is into effect in Greece in view of the bad weather expected to hit the country. Traffic moves without problems in most of the national and provincial road network in the prefectures of north and west Macedonia, north Greece, in spite of the deterioration of weather conditions and the temperature plunge expected during the day by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, EMY.

Snow chains are necessary for cars using the Ioannina motorway through Nestorio, Florina through Vitsi and the Florina-Aminteo motorway.

In Thessaloniki, the Hortiatis-Agios Vasilios intersection closed because of the snow.

Ice covered parts of the Asvestochori-Hortiatis road in the early morning hours today.

Traffic police suggested caution to drivers using the national and provincial road network in the early morning hours because of ice patches on the road created as a result of the combination of rainfall and low temperatures.

Snow began to fall just before noon in the center of Thessaloniki where temperature is 0C.

MPA, Thessaloniki, 23 January 2006 (13:51 UTC+2)

[Spartan]

Hey new find at Pella. Even has the royals names!

From the following site:

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-02-12T143309Z_01_L114134_RTRUKOC_0_US-GREECE-TOMB.xml


By Deborah Kyvrikosaios

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek archaeologists said on Sunday they had discovered the largest underground tomb in Greek antiquity in the ancient city of Pella in northern Greece, birthplace of Alexander the Great.

The eight-chamber tomb rich in painted sculpture dates to the Hellenistic period between the 3rd and 2nd century BC and offers scholars a rare glimpse into the life of nobles around the time of Alexander's death.

"This is the largest, sculptured, multi-chambered tomb found in Greece, and is significant in that it is a new architectural style -- there are many chambers and a long entrance arcade," the chief archaeologist at Pella, Maria Akamati, told Reuters.

Akamati said that the tomb, accessible through a 16-meter long entrance, was uncovered in an agricultural plot bordering the ancient cemetery of the capital city of the Macedonian kingdom.

Until now, the largest chambered funeral tomb found in Greece contained up to three chambers.

Intact, inscribed tombstones, with the names of the owners still visible, and a vast array of rich artifacts including jewelry, copper coins and earthen vases, led archaeologists to the conclusion that the tomb belonged to a noble family.

"This was a very rich family. This is rare as the cemetery is full of plebeians (commoners)," said Akamati. "We actually learned the names of the owners from the tombstones."

Akamati said at least seven to eight family members had been buried in the chambers, but the tomb had most likely been plundered over generations as luxury personal artifacts were missing.

But the painted plaster of the chambers, with red, blue and white dyes, was still evident on the walls, said Akamati.

The ancient city of Pella was part of the Macedonian kingdom, ruled by Phillip of Macedon, and later by his son Alexander the Great, where he was born in 356 BC and spent his childhood years before setting off to conquer the known world.

The tomb dates to the period after Alexander's death, Akamatis said, which was marked by mass power struggles and intrigues by the royal family and Alexander's generals battling for control of his empire.

[akritas]

Greek Consulate in the Monastery

On 7 March the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Euripidis Stylianidis inaugurated the Greek Consulate in the city Bitola in FYROM , the acquaintance in the Greek as Monastiri.

source
http://www.diktyo21.gr/item.asp?ReportID=248

[Amarantos]

''we as country cannot guarantee the not change of borders as much Kosovo is concerned as with the part of Former Yougoslave Republic of Macedonia where albanians live'' in case of Kosovo's separation from Serbia


http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=571353
http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=571331

[akritas]

BAKOYANNIS TO MEET WITH RICE AND BUSH
Washington, 23 March 2006 (14:55 UTC+2), MPA


Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, who is on a formal visit to the United States, will meet with her US counterpart Condoleezza Rice.

Ms. Bakoyannis will have talks with US Senator Sarbanes and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns while she will also attend a formal luncheon given by Greek Ambassador John Negreponte and an event at the White House on the occasion of the Greek National Independence Day to take place in the presence of US President George W. Bush with whom she will have a brief meeting.

On Saturday, March 25, Ms. Bakoyannis will attend a doxology at Aghia Triada Cathedral in New York on the occasion of the Greek national holiday, officiating Archbishop Dimitrios of America. In the afternoon of the same day, a formal reception will be given at the Greek consulate in New York.

On Monday, March 27, Ms. Bakoyannis will attend a UN Security Council discussion on the situation in Haiti.

Ms. Bakoyannis is very likely to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The level of bilateral relations is excellent, stated Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Daniel Fried in a press briefing in view of the Bakoyannis-Rice meeting.

On the Cyprus issue, Mr. Fried stated that Ms. Rice and Ms. Bakoyannis will discuss ways for the resumption of the solution process while he underlined with an emphasis that the US government will never recognize two states in Cyprus. He stressed that the US is against recognition, against division, against partition adding that Washington supports reunification on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation. He pointed out that the United States cooperates with the Turkish Cypriot regime because its leadership wants a solution. We cooperate but we do not recognize them, he said.

During the press briefing, the US side made it clear that the United States will not sign a trade agreement with the Mehmet Ali Talat regime to avoid any move that would recognize a separate state either directly or indirectly.

Mr. Fried stated that the State Department European Office proposed Ms. Bakoyannis' visit to the US capital and that the response of the head of the Greek diplomacy was immediate.

He refused to comment on the mobile phone-tapping affair in Greece while responding to a question on the cancellation of the purchase of 10 more F16s he did not agree that this decision creates problems to bilateral relations. He went on to explain that Greece is an independent country and does whatever it wants to do adding, however, that the specific aircraft are the best in the market.

On the FYROM issue, Mr. Fried stated that the United States has told FYROM that if it wishes to become a NATO and EU member should reach an agreement with Greece on the name issue. He said that the two countries should find a solution within the UN framework, pointing out that Washington supports the initiatives undertaken by mediator Matthew Nimetz and is ready to accept any outcome that will result from the negotiations. He stated that it is in the interest of Greece to have a stable and developed republic at its borders saying characteristically that “we do not need a new war. Greece is a major investor in the Balkans and relations between the two countries are very good with the exception of the name issue”.

Mr. Fried also stated that Greece is a strategic partner for the United States and its ally in NATO, the Balkans and Afghanistan. He also added that bilateral relations are close at all levels and clarified that the improvement and strengthening of relations began with former Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis with whom, he stressed, relations were excellent.