Greek front page news: Turkish Corvette Enters Greek Territorial Waters

November 4 2014
A Turkish corvette under the name “Buyukada” entered Greek territorial waters in the Kafirea region from the Xeros Bay at 3 a.m. this morning. The corvette then moved to the south-southwest and passed through the islands of Kea and Kithnos, near Attica, according to an announcement released by the Ministry of National Defense.

Ships belonging to the Navy are closely monitoring the Turkish ship’s route.

The Aegean dispute is a set of interrelated controversial issues between Greece and Turkey over sovereignty and related rights in the Aegean Sea. This set of conflicts has had a large effect on Greek-Turkish relations since the 1970s. It has twice led to crises coming close to an outbreak of military hostilities in 1987 and in early 1996.

Since 1998, the two countries have been coming closer to overcome tension through a series of diplomatic measures, particularly with a view to easing Turkey’s accession into the European Union. However, as of 2010, differences over suitable diplomatic paths to a substantial solution are still unresolved.

A few weeks ago another Turkish corvette emerged from the Gulf of Izmir and entered Greek territorial waters north of the Cycladic island of Paros. It subsequently moved south, sailing west of Folegandros before turning east.

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 Greece to step up screening for ISIS militants

Greece is a major transit point for immigrants and refugees seeking illegal entry to European Union nations. (File photo: AFP)

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By The Associated Press | Athens
Monday, 3 November 2014

Greece’s top security official says his government has accepted a request from the United States to step up screening at the country’s ports and airports for suspected volunteers traveling from Europe to fight with Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias met in Washington last week with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey.

Following his return, Kikilias on Monday briefed conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on the visit, and said Greece would boost cooperation with the United States in countering the Islamic State group.

In September, U.S. Secretary of the Army John McHugh traveled to Greece to discuss the issue.

Greece is a major transit point for immigrants and refugees seeking illegal entry to European Union nations.

Serbian MP: Serbia and Greece have a common enemy, Albania 

 

The event that took place in Belgrade has highlighted the extreme statements of politicians in Belgrade. A Serbian politician has gone too far and said that Serbia and Greece have a common enemy and that enemy is Albania.

From United Serbia, Dragan Markovic, during a rally in Jagodina with Greek politicians and businessmen urged Serbs and Greeks to come together against Albanians.

"Since its creation until now they have only threatened us. I do not want to go back in years, but just want to remind you of the last event in the football match Serbia-Albania where Albanians brought the flag of Greater Albania ", he said.

Markovic further said that Albanians "have invaded Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro". He added that the Serbian state is disappointed why Europe did not respond to what happened in Belgrade. According to him, the drone was "terrorist act" ./ albeu.com/

Albania: Italian among 4 dead in shooting

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Police check the area at a night club in capital Tirana after three Albanian men and a 60-year old Italian who happened to be there were shot dead following a quarrel early morning, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Two other young men were injured too. Police have detained three suspects and seized two pistols allegedly used in the murder. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

 

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Police in Albania say a 60-year-old Italian man and three Albanian men, aged between 19 and 38, have been shot dead at a nightclub in the capital.

Two other men were hospitalized with injuries.

The shooting early Tuesday in Tirana apparently followed a quarrel at the "Ante Grand" club, on the ground floor of an apartment block located less than 100 meters (yards) from the U.S. embassy.

Police say three people have been detained and two handguns were seized.

Russian patriarch to visit Belgrade in mid-November

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Russian Patriarch Kirill will in mid-November visit Belgrade and along with Serbian Patriarch Irinej consecrate a monument to Russian Emperor Nicholas Romanov.

(Beta, file)

Tanjug said this was confirmed on Tuesday by the Belgrade Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Kirill's visit was announced last summer, when it was said that he will meet with top Serbian Orthodox Church dignitaries, as well as with state officials.

It will be his second visit to Serbia since his election as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He attended the celebrations of the 1700th anniversary of the signing of the Milan Edict, held in Niš, southern Serbia, last year.

"The Russian patriarch's visit is a confirmation of the continuity of the strong spiritual and institutional unity of the sisterly Russian and Serbian orthodox Churches. I think the visit will without a doubt also have a political message, because it goes in favor of expansion of the sphere of Russia's influence on Serbia," Nikola Knežević, president of the Novi Sad-based Center for the Study of Religion, Politics and Society, said in a statement to Tanjug.

Kirill will arrive here shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin 's visit last month, "which speaks in favor of very close ties between the authorities and the Church in Russia, an almost symphonic relationship," according to Knežević.

He added that the visit will have "great significance" and will send a message of "political romanticism" considering the monument is dedicated to the last Russian tsar who is considered a martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church and a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

"The consecration of the monument is a symbolic act that should once again emphasize the spiritual unity of Russian and Serb peoples, but also unequivocally point to the importance and influence that Russia is gaining in a country that stands divided between East and West, and direct the spiritual vertical and the political horizontal lines along which Serbia should move in the future" - said Knežević.

Greek FM, Turkish MP clash over Cyprus in Parliament

 4 November 2014

A Turkish lawmaker on Tuesday said Turkey is operating "within its jurisdiction" in the eastern Mediterranean where it claims it is conducting seismic research, after Greece's Foreign Minister accused the country of causing unnecessary provocations in the region.
Speaking in the Greek Parliament during a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean and Middle East, Osman Askin Bak, a member of the governing AKP party said:
"In northern Cyprus there’s a licensed area for research and the Turkish navy is operating solely within its jurisdiction. Barbaros is conducting seismic research and has informed about this and there shouldn’t be any unilateral actions."
"The entire continental shelf of the island is accessible and the two countries should decide jointly how to utilize their natural resources," he added.
Earlier, Evangelos Venizelos had accused again Turkey of creating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean and violating Cyprus's legal rights.
"We are concerned about the recent provocations by Turkey of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus," the minister said.
"Beyond violating the sovereignty and sovereign rights of a member state of the UN and the European union...this flagrant violation of the international law is creating yet another front, another crisis, in an already turbulent region, at a time when the Alliance and the international community are and must be focused on the very serious crises and security threats I earlier."

Democratic Left leader Kouvelis sees Greek snap elections in March

First entry: 4 November 2014 - 15:25 Athens,

Democratic Left leader Kouvelis sees Greek snap elections in March
By Zafeiriadou Maritina
Greece will hold snap elections next March since Parliament will not be able to elect a new President, the leader of the Democratic Left Fotis Kouvelis told reporters on Tuesday, after his meeting with President Karolos Papoulias. 
"Elections will be held, as it seems, in March because of the non-election of a President of the Republic," Kouvelis said. 
He also called for a meeting of party leaders to form a common front on Greece's debt. 
Kouvelis told Papoulias political differences and clashes are acceptable in a democracy but have to be put aside, so that party leaders can find some common ground on the country's debt negotiations.
"I wanted to inform you (the President) of our proposal to convene the council of political leaders in order to agree on how to claim a restructuring of the country's debt," he said. 
"If we don't have this renegotiation for the viability of our debt it is obvious this will have detrimental effects...on Greek society," he added.

With eyes on EU, Albania hopes to draw line under Serbia drone row

By Marc Jones and Karin Strohecker

LONDON Mon Nov 3, 2014

Fans of Serbia react as a flag depicting so-called Greater Albania, an area covering all parts of the Balkans where ethnic Albanians live, is flown over the pitch during their Euro 2016 Group I qualifying soccer match against Albania at the FK Partizan stadium in Belgrade October 14, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Marko Djurica

(Reuters) - Albania hopes next week's meeting with Serbia can draw a line under an on-pitch brawl between their national soccer teams and put efforts to heal fragile Balkan relations back on the right track, its foreign minister said on Monday.
Speaking to Reuters, Ditmir Bushati also said he thought Albania would be ready to join the European Union in 10 years but voiced concern at the anti-enlargement rhetoric now coming from some EU leaders.
Bushati further said that Albania was open to further opportunities to assist a U.S.-led coalition campaign against Islamic State insurgents who have overrun large parts of Iraq and Syria, causing international shock waves.
Albania's Oct. 14 Euro 2016 soccer qualification match in Belgrade had to be abandoned when fighting erupted after a remote-controlled drone trailing a flag of "Greater Albania" flew over the stadium, triggering a pitch invasion.
The incident touched off a war of words between Tirana and Belgrade, as well as attacks on bakeries owned by ethnic Albanians in Serbian towns, showing how national resentments in the region continue to lurk just below the surface.
"The events that occurred before, during and after the match were very unpleasant and we have condemned the provocations and the violence," Bushati said during a trip to London.
"But I believe it is important to look to the future and to open up a new chapter in relations between Albania and Serbia which I think would be key for democratic stability of the region and its advancement towards the European Union."
After being delayed by the fallout from the soccer match, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is now due to meet Serbian counterpart Aleksander Vucic on Nov. 10 in what will be the first visit to Serbia by an Albanian leader for 68 years.
Bushati said although Albania and Serbia had serious issues, he hoped the visit would continue some of the work on improving Balkan relations done in Berlin earlier this year and he hoped the meeting between Rama and Vucic would have "good elements".
"I believe we could find a level playing field with Serbia because there are issues of mutual importance and issues that are key for the European integration of the region."
ENTER EU IN A DECADE?
At the heart of the talks in Belgrade is the call from EU powers like Germany for greater stability and cooperation between Balkan member states on aspects like infrastructure that could benefit the region as a whole.
For Albania, this is also key if it wants to achieve its overarching aim of joining the EU as soon as possible.
"I think that Albania would be ready in a decade to join the EU but it is very important to ensure at the same time that there is a political appetite in the EU to have Albania and other western Balkans on board...," said Bushati.
"It takes two to tango."
Would-be EU joiners face resistance however as calls for a cap on immigration within the 28-nation bloc rise even in well performing economies like Britain. New European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker meanwhile has said there should be no further enlargement over the next five years.
Bushati said that with no Balkan country likely to meet the EU criteria in that time, Juncker's statement was not necessarily an issue, but stressed it was important not to send too negative a signal. "This is not a very reassuring in terms of a public message," he said referring to Juncker's remark.
In the western Balkans, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo all aspire to EU membership, but they must do more to tackle organized crime and corruption to qualify, an EU report said last month.
Memories of the wars that tore apart old Yugoslavia next door to Albania two decades ago are still raw in the Balkans and there is concern about Islamic State attempts to recruit members among economically deprived and disaffected young people there.
Bushati said Albania would be interested in further steps in support of the coalition campaign of air strikes against Islamic State, having already contributed ammunition.
"The Balkans due to its geographic location is under genuine risk (from Islamic State and militant Islam) because of the routes (linking Europe with Syria), but also because of the fact security structures are not sufficient, social cohesion is as yet unformed and political stability is still fragile," he said.
"I strongly believe the EU's role in this is really instrumental," he added, explaining that Brussels needed to keep the carrot of a more prosperous life in the EU in the sight of disadvantaged citizens in Albania and elsewhere in the Balkans who might otherwise be tempted by the adventure of militancy.
Bushati said the Balkans was serving as a "gatekeeper" for limiting militant movements between Europe and the Middle East and therefore it "should be helped to have this prosperity narrative".
(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

New Greek MD N.Dendias press conference 

 
 
November 3 2014
By targeting the executives and staff of the Armed Forces and a hard statement to Turkey the first statement of Nikos Dendias at the MOD.

The new MoD Addressing Turkey and their behavior especially recently said that "Greece by one hand is holding olive branch, but the other is holding a sword. Sword with law to defend, but a sword", said Mr. Dendias.

Addressing the officers and staff of the Armed Forces Mr.Dendias said "I understand what you have suffered from salary cuts" and reiterated the government's intention to forward a restoration.

"Greater Albania" against "Greater Serbia"

The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses events in the Middle East and the Balkans. In the light of the announced official visit of Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama to Serbia scheduled for 10 November 2014, IFIMES has prepared a comprehensive analysis entitled “Greater Albania” against “Greater Serbia”. The most relevant and interesting sections from the analysis are published below.

 “Greater Albania” against “Greater Serbia”

 The Serbia-Albania qualifying match for 2016 European Football Championship,played in Belgrade on 14 October 2014, was cancelled after 41 minutes following a brawl between the players sparked by the arrival of an unmanned drone carrying a flag of “Greater Albania” flown over the stadium. This incident revealed the reality of the relationship between the two nations and states which are – although deep in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration – still extremely burdened by historical legacy. The spirit of the past is still present, and it is used and exploited whenever suitable by either side.

 Symbolically the football match was a special overture to the historical visit of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Belgrade and his meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, which was to take place on 22 October 201. This is the first such visit by an Albanian leader to Belgrade in 68 years. The last time an Albanian head of state visited Belgrade was in 1946, when late Albanian President Enver Hoxha met with Yugoslavia's then leadership.

 Although it is not the aim of this analysis to deal with the football match, the latter provides a good example that no matter how much the spirit of the future is present, the spirit of the past is still strong enough to thwart the plans for the future. Abandonment of the football match between Serbia and Albania illustrates all the complexities of relations in the West Balkans and questions everything that has been done so far to reconcile and normalise those relations. What should be done in order to stabilise the relations and establish peace and stability in the region?

 THE NIGHTMARE OF “GREATER SERBIA”

 Unfortunately no development has been achieved in bilateral relations between Albania and Serbia during the long years of Sali Berisha's and Boris Tadić's government. Berisha was afraid of “his Albanians” while Tadić feared “his Serbs”. Nevertheless, they had something in common:

They both ruined their respective countries by letting systemic corruption and crime spread out and penetrate all spheres of social and political life.  If Zoran Đinđić were still alive those relations would probably bee much different, not only concerning Albania but also with respect to Albanians in Kosovo.

 A few months before the election Sali Berisha had been using fierce nationalistic statements based on the idea of creating the “Greater Albania”, which triggered reactions in the neighbouring countries and their governments, especially in those that are home to numerous ethnic Albanians.

 Unification with Kosovo has become the subject of public debate. Until very recently the state of Albania did not have any expansion projects in place. In his last attempt to remain in power Sali Berisha obviously resorted to Pan-Albanian ideas and to the celebration of the centenary of Albania's statehood in November 2012.

 The official Washington then warned political parties and leaders to concentrate on priorities, and Euro-Atlantic integration is certainly one of them.

 Current events have also encouraged the protagonists of the “Greater Serbia” project, who have responded to Albanian Prime Minister Rama and expressed their concern regarding the “Greater Albania” project which represents a nightmare for the Serbian side.

 BERLIN – TIRANA - BELGRADE

 Both Edi Rama and Aleksandar Vučić won the parliamentary election with a large majority: Rama in June 2013, and Vučić in March 2014. The US and the EU, especially Germany, viewed their victory in Albania and in Serbia as a turning point towards greater regional cooperation and as an opportunity for burying the hatchet by Albanians and Serbs. Such changes were even expected to spread throughout the whole Balkan region. However, both Albania and Serbia remained dominated by strong state apparatuses with staff from previous political parties.  Even the compromised Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI), whose staff are the key pillars of corruption in the energy sector, became Edi Rama's coalition partner.

 In end-August 2014 German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted heads of states and governments of Western Balkans region at the conference on regional co-operation and development in Berlin. Her assessment and idea of the conference was to change from the situation where one side was against the other to the situation in which all sides would work together.

 However, first signs of intolerance were expressed between Serbian Prime Minister Vučić and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama already before the Berlin conference took place. Three days before the conference Chancellor Merkel informed the participating states that only she and Edi Rama would speak at the final press conference, where she would represent the European Union and Edi Rama would be a representative of the West Balkan states. Serbian government fiercely reacted to this  decision, not willing to recognise Rama as the representative of the West Balkans. Although it was speculated that under the circumstances Vučić would reject going to Berlin, this was not the case. Merkel did not change her decision and at the end the conference was carried out in line with her plans. The importance that Merkel showed to Edi Rama sends a strong and clear signal that Berlin wants to open a new chapter of relations with Tirana.

 DESCENT ABOVE BELGRADE

 The long announced visit of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Belgrade is undoubtedly a historical one, with almost 70 years since Enver Hoxha's visit to this country in 1946. Initially the visit was scheduled for 22 October 2014, but only seven days before that date the football match between Serbian and Albanian representations cooled down the relations between the two countries after 41 minutes of game. Edi Rama's visit came under question, and Albanian drone that flew above the stadium even overshadowed Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Belgrade two days afterwards. Even today the media and public debates in Serbia give more attention to the drone while almost forgetting Putin's visit.

 Following this incident the scene has been entered once again by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who is trying to resolve the tensions between Vučić and Rama, of course away from public eyes.  Rama has already confirmed that after Merkel's intervention he and Vučić no longer have problems communicating and setting a new date for the visit, which is now postponed to 10 November 2014.

 Angela Merkel has obviously invested massive efforts to restore the undermined trust between Vučić and Rama, seeing them as motors that can pull the whole Western Balkans into European integration processes. Time will show whether her efforts will prove to be worthwhile or experience yet another disappointment from the Balkan leaders.

 In the meanwhile UEFA Disciplinary Body has adopted the following decisions: 1. the football match between Serbia and Albania was registered as a 3–0 victory for Serbia; 2. the Serbian representation team was deducted three points for the European Championship qualifying competition; 3. the Serbian representation team will play its next two UEFA competition matches behind closed doors; 4. both football associations have been fined 100,000 Euros.

 Again, both the Serbs and the Albanians have expressed their dissatisfaction with the above decision. This triggers the question of where the West Balkans is heading in the future?

 “GREATER ALBANIA” AGAINST “GREATER SERBIA”

 The tale of “Greater Albania” and “Greater Serbia” is a never ending story.  However, a story is one thing, while the reality is something else. After the football match incident Serbian Prime Minister Vučić had a telephone conversation with US Vice PresidentJoseph Biden in which he asked him whether he would opt for “greater Albania or normal Serbia”.  Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted strongly and directly to Vučić's statement, pointing out that “Normal Serbia will be a reality only when the Real Serbia will realize that Great Albania is their obsession, not our project”.  This is true. The Greater Albanian project has never been the project of the state of Albania – it is actually a Serbian product, used as a cover for their ambitions for the Greater Serbian state.

 A large part of Albanians live outside the administrative borders of today's Albania, mostly in Macedonia, Montenegro, south Serbia and Kosovo. Nevertheless, Albania (unlike Serbia) never went into war against those states to restore its ethnic borders to where they were before 1913. Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević, on the other hand, went into war with Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo with the aim to create “Greater Serbia” and unite all Serbs into one state. After all the wars Serbia shrunk down to its today's territory, which is much less than Milošević had ever planned.


- See more at: http://www.ifimes.org/en/8869#sthash.KKaqk3vi.dpuf

PHOTO OF THE DAY


EDI RAMA INTERVIEW FOR THE GREEK NEWSPAPER "KATHIMERINI" 

http://www.kathimerini.gr/790384/article/epikairothta/kosmos/enti-rama-sthn-k-epidei3h-ratsismoy-kai-vias-twn-servwn

Incumbent PM Zakharchenko leads in Donetsk elections – early results

Published time: November 02, 2014 

RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko

Incumbent PM Aleksandr Zakharchenko has won in Sunday’s elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, taking some 75 percent of the votes. In Lugansk, 63 percent are voting for the current leader Igor Plotnitsky.
In Donestk, Zakharchenko was trailed by Aleksandr Kofman, deputy speaker of the Novorossiya Union parliament, and Yury Sivokonenko, an MP from the local Supreme Council.
Meanwhile, the lead in the parliamentary elections – also held on Sunday – is being claimed by Zakharchenko's Donetsk Republic party, which has 65.11 percent, the head of the Election Commission added citing exit poll. The rival Svobodniy Donbass party is collecting 34.89 percent of the votes.
In Lugansk, the incumbent leader and head of the Peace to Lugansk Region movement, Igor Plotnitsky, has secured 63 percent of the votes, according to a preliminary count cited by RIA Novosti. The party has won 69 percent of votes, while some 24 percent voted for its closest rival, the Lugansk Economic Union.

Members of the self-defense forces cast their votes during the elections for the leader and the People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic (RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko)

The self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk took to polling stations to vote for their leaders and MPs on Sunday. Over 360 polling stations were open in Donetsk for three million potential voters. Meanwhile, 102 polling stations for approximately 1.5 million voters were open in Lugansk.
In Lugansk, the overall turnout exceeded 60 percent, according to the head of the Central Election Commission in the LPR, Sergey Kozyakov. He added that by 8p.m. local time, nearly 630,000 residents had come to cast their votes.
Kiev has said it will not recognize the elections, as they contradict Ukrainian legislation. Ukraine’s Security Service has opened a criminal case against the organizers of the elections in Donetsk and Lugansk.
EU’s new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has also spoken out against the elections, arguing that it will be an obstacle to reconciliation in Ukraine.
“I consider today’s ‘presidential and parliamentary elections’ in Donetsk and Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine. The vote is illegal and illegitimate, and the European Union will not recognise it,” Mogherini said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko condemned the elections as illegitimate on Sunday and called on Russia not to recognize the results. "I count on Russia not to recognize the so-called elections because they are a clear violation of the September 5 Minsk protocol, which was also signed by Russia's representative," he said in a statement.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement late on Sunday saying that Moscow “respects the expression of will of the south-eastern [Ukrainians].” The ministry noted a high turnout and reminded that in the current situation it is “extremely important” for Kiev to work on conducting dialogue with the people of the region.

Luhansk residents cast their votes at a polling station during the elections for the head and the People's Council of the Luhansk People's Republic (Reuters / Valery Melnikov)

Moscow earlier pointed out that according to the Minsk peace agreements, elections in both Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics should be conducted between October 19 and November 3.
Thus Poroshenko’s order from October 16, which set the date of elections in the self-proclaimed republics for December 7, “contradicts the Minsk agreements,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ukraine conducted parliamentary elections on October 26.
No serious violations of public order were reported during the Sunday elections in the DPR. "We have no reports about incidents at polling stations,” a DPR Interior Ministry spokesman told TASS news agency. Minor incidents included a false bomb threat.
International observers said the elections in the self-proclaimed republics followed democratic standards, adding that they saw no violations during the process.
An MP from the Upper Chamber of Italy’s Parliament, Lucio Malan, acting as an observer at the elections in Donetsk, told RT that people “were not influenced in any way” during the vote.
“The prevention of double or triple voting appeared to be good, up to international standards” he added.
“What was possible for us to see and what we witnessed is that they fit completely into generally accepted democratic electoral standards,” Manuel Ochsenreiter, a German observer in Lugansk, told RT. “What was really impressing – the masses of people at the polling stations, standing sometimes for hours just to put their vote, to express their political will.”
“First I believe the elections followed international standards of democratic elections. I was very impressed with the enthusiasm and the vigor with which the people went to the polls to express their opinion,” US Senior Attorney Frank Abernathy, an observer in Lugansk, told RT.

Turkey Provokes Greece and Cyprus Over Aegean Sea Rights
by Philip Chrysopoulos - Nov 2, 2014

A meeting of the Turkish national security council took place, lasting more than ten hours, while Turkey continues to provoke Greece and Cyprus over rights in the Aegean Sea.

According to a report by newsit.gr, during the meeting of the Turkish national security council, Turkish officials discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. They discussed the issue of the advancing Islamic State, the situation in Syria and Kurdistan and the possible threats for the security of Turkey.

They also discussed the situation in the Aegean Sea and developments in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus. They decided that from now on they will show determination over issues concerning Turkish rights in the Aegean Sea and protection of those rights inside Turkish waters. Also, they claim that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has given them the rights to secure Turkish interests in TRNC waters, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the presence of Turkish ship Barbaros continues to provoke by remaining inside the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone and is accompanied by a Turkish submarine, much to Greece’s and Cyprus’ disaffection.

Analysts say, that Barbaros is Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s way of answering to the alliance between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over the EEZ.

According to the report citing Turkish newspapers, television reports and websites, the meeting of the Turkish national security council lasted a record ten hours and twenty minutes, with Turkish officials trying to come to a satisfying conclusion. Turkish media say that the previous longest national security council meeting lasted nine hours, and it took place on February 28, 1997.
- See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/11/02/turkey-provokes-greece-and-cyprus-over-aegean-sea-rights/#sthash.JAGCurrb.dpuf During the meeting they reviewed issues of common interest such as developments in the region, issues of security and economic cooperation.

Avramopoulos meets with Erdogan

November 2 2014

Meeting with Erdogan characterized "friendly" had Avramopoulos in Istanbul.

Who can believe of course that these days with Turkey has made incredible challenges in Cyprus and ... herald crisis in the Aegean can be "friendly discussion"? Avramopoulos and Erdogan are known old friends from when they were mayors of Athens and Istanbul. They had contacts.

According to information from the staff of the Commissioner:

  Informal and friendly conversation with the President of Turkey Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the afternoon Saturday, November 1, had the new Commissioner of Immigration and Home Affairs of EU Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos on the sidelines of the visit made ​​by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Mr. Avramopoulos traveled to Istanbul to visit the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on his way to take on the new tasks of the European Commission in Brussels. Patriarch Bartholomew wished Mr. Avramopoulos every success to the new mission and noted the interest with which the "politician always issues facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate."

After lunch hosted by the Patriarch at the Phanar, the Greek Commissioner telephoned Turkish President, whom he is connected by old friendship from the time both were mayors in Athens and Istanbul, respectively.

Mr. Avramopoulos accepted the invitation of Mr. Erdogan to meet in private and informal presidential residence in Istanbul.

Proposed Meeting of Western Balkan Leaders Unravels

FILE - A drone with an Albanian flag flies over Partizan stadium during the Euro 2016 Group I qualifying match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 14, 2014.Reuters

Last updated on: October 31, 2014 1:58 PM

BELGRADE— It was meant to be a rare gathering of the leaders of the western Balkan countries bidding to join the European Union, a moment of high symbolism two decades since the wars that tore apart Yugoslavia, but old enmities again got in the way.
Leaders of Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania were all invited to meet under the auspices of the Trilateral Commission, a Western reflection group, at a Saturday conference in Belgrade, capital of Serbia and once Yugoslavia.
Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, declined his invitation in the wake of an abandoned Oct. 14 soccer match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade, when brawls broke out on the pitch after a remote-controlled drone trailing a flag of “Greater Albania” flew over the stadium, triggering a pitch invasion.
Rama, in agreement with his Serbian counterpart, had already postponed an Oct. 23 bilateral visit for Nov. 10. It will mark the first visit to Serbia by an Albanian leader in 68 years, hailed as a new chapter in relations marred by tension over Serbia's majority-Albanian former Kosovo province.
The soccer incident triggered a war of words between Tirana and Belgrade, as well as attacks on bakeries owned by Albanians in Serbian towns, showing how ethnic and national resentments in the region continue to lurk just below the surface.
That was only the start of the unraveling of a session due to focus on “west Balkans candidate countries on their path to European Union accession” - an increasingly remote prospect with the EU having just declared a five-year moratorium on further enlargement.
'Not for want of trying'
Kosovo's president, Atifete Jahjaga, whose visit would have marked the first to Serbia by a head of state of an independent Kosovo, also bowed out, citing a political crisis at home. Kosovo, which is mainly ethnic Albanian, broke away from Serbia in war in 1999 and declared independence in 2008.
“I decided to stay in Kosovo at this critical time,” she told the Kosovo daily Tribuna.
“I never take these meetings as something easy, because they are not easy. But I believe in Kosovo's statehood... and I will never be afraid to face anyone in Belgrade, in Pristina or elsewhere,” Jahjaga said.
Belgrade has not officially recognized Kosovo's independence, which came almost a decade after an 11-week NATO air war in 1999 that drove out Serbian forces which had waged a bloody counter-insurgency, driving hundreds of thousands of people into neighboring Macedonia and Albania. But Kosovo's foreign minister, Enver Hoxhaj, visited Belgrade last week in a step towards practical cooperation.
“We have to close once and forever the conflict with Serbia, because this conflict continues to hold Kosovo and the whole region hostage,” Jahjaga said.
The chairman of Bosnia's multiethnic presidency, Muslim Bosniak Bekir Izetbegovic, also dropped out of the Belgrade meeting after, sources said, the organizers invited the president of the Bosnian Serb republic, Milorad Dodik, who wants to break away from Bosnia.
The absence of the three leaders means only the majority Orthodox Christian countries will be represented. There will also be no official representative of Croatia, which has already joined the EU in July 2013 after fighting against Serb rebels to break free of Yugoslavia in 1991-95.
Jovan Kovacic, chairman of the Serbian group in the Trilateral Commission and a member of the organization's executive committee, told Reuters: “It was not for want of trying by the organizers.” 

Israeli FM grumbles politics is not IKEA after Sweden recognizes Palestine

Published time: October 31, 2014 

Israel Minister for Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman (AFP Photo/Georges Gobet)

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman lamented Sweden's decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, saying the Scandinavian country was getting involved in an issue more complex that IKEA furniture.
"The Swedish government should understand that Middle East relations are more complex than a piece of self-assembled IKEA furniture, and the matter should be handled with responsibility and sensitivity," Lieberman wrote in a Facebook post.
It is doubtful whether this less-than-diplomatic comment will help Israel and its top diplomat change Stockholm's decision. Commenting on the remark on Thursday, Lieberman's Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom said:
"I will be happy to send Israel FM Lieberman an IKEA flat pack to assemble. He'll see it requires a partner, cooperation and a good manual."

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (Reuters/Annika AF Klercker/TT News Agency)

Israel recalled its ambassador to Sweden after the country formally recognized Palestine as a sovereign state on Thursday. The Scandinavian country is the first member of the EU to do so after becoming part of the European Union, and the third after Malta and Cyprus.
Under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's relations with its long-time allies in the US and Europe have been damaged. The country continues to pursue controversial policies like developing its illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The EU is mounting pressure on Israel by denying funding and cooperation to Israeli companies operating in the settlements.
Washington despite its differences with Tel Aviv disagreed with Sweden.
"We believe international recognition of a Palestinian state is premature," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters. "We certainly support Palestinian statehood, but it can only come through a negotiated outcome, a resolution of final status issues and mutual recognitions by both parties."
Support for Palestinians is growing as they make their case with international organizations like the United Nations and individual countries, as Sweden's move indicates.

Διακλαδική άσκηση «ΠΥΡΠΟΛΗΤΗΣ» 2014

VIDEO OF THE DAY: 

http://youtu.be/zjVrcpaqOfs

"PYRPOLITIS 14" the Greek Military Exercises under observation of the NATO General Secretary, Stoltenberg. 

Greece angered by Albanian nationalists attack on minority village

October 30 2014

Greece’s Ambassador to Tirana made a demarche to the Albanian Foreign Ministry, asking the Albanian authorities to condemn the incidents that occurred in the village of Dervican against members the Greek national minority of Albania following the suspension of the Serbia-Albania football match.

Ambassador Rokanas also requested that all the necessary measures be taken to find, arrest and punish those who carried out the unprovoked attack, as well as to protect the Greek National Minority ahead of the upcoming events in celebration of the 28 October anniversary.

According to a press statement by the Greek Foreign Ministry, Rokanas conveyed Greece’s strong concern at similar attacks that target the Greek minority and pose an obstacle to Albania’s European perspective.

Source: Hellenic Foreign Ministry

NATO says Russian jets, bombers circle Europe in unusual incidents

MiG-31 fighter jets are not commonly seen close to Europe but some were intercepted along with other aircraft above the Baltic Sea in two separate incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

By Michael Birnbaum October 29 at 4:24 PM

MOSCOW — NATO said Wednesday that it had intercepted a large number of Russian aircraft flying close to European airspace in the past two days, in an “unusual” series of incidents that brought Russian bombers as far afield as Portugal.
The aircraft — at least 19 in all — offered reminders of Russian air power at a time of the worst relations between the West and Russia since the Cold War. Russian military aircraft have significantly increased their activity in Europe since the conflict in Ukraine began earlier this year, with NATO scrambling to intercept aircraft more than 100 times in 2014. But a NATO official said the scale of the latest incidents was the most provocative this year.
Over the Atlantic Ocean and the North, Black and Baltic seas, Russian bombers, fighter jets and tanker aircraft were detected flying in international airspace, NATO said. There were no incursions into national airspace, a violation of sovereignty that would have significantly amplified the seriousness of the four incidents, three of which took place on Wednesday.
“We’re raising it as an unusual level of activity,” said Lt. Col. Jay Janzen, a spokesman for NATO’s military command in Mons, Belgium. “The flights we’ve seen in the last 24 hours, the size of those flights and some of the flight plans are definitely unusual.”
U.S. officials regard the flights as a show of force by the Putin government. “It’s concerning because it’s moving in the wrong direction,” said one U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the air activity publicly. “It’s not helping to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine. It’s not helping to improve relations between NATO and Russia. It’s not helping anybody.”

At least nineteen Russian aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, have been intercepted in four waves over Europe yesterday and today. View Graphic

Smaller-scale incidents have also increased this year, approximately tripling from the same period in 2013, Janzen said.
In at least one of the four incidents, the aircraft had switched off their transponders and had not filed flight plans with civilian air traffic controllers. That means that civilian air traffic control cannot track them, potentially creating a risk for civilian planes.
That incident took place around 3:00 a.m. in Western Europe on Wednesday, when four Tu-95 long-range strategic nuclear bombers and four Il-78 tanker aircraft flew over the Norwegian Sea. Norwegian F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept them. Six of the planes returned to Russia, but two of the bombers skirted the Norwegian coast, flew past Britain — sending Typhoon fighter jets to scramble in response — and then finally looped west of Spain and Portugal, attracting Portuguese F-16s. Then the two bombers appeared to return to Russia, Janzen said.
The Tu-95 bombers are not commonly seen close to Europe, Janzen said. Nor are the MiG-31 fighter jets that were intercepted along with other aircraft above the Baltic Sea in two separate incidents Tuesday and Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents above the Baltic represented the same group of seven planes entering and departing a Russian military base at Kaliningrad.
There was no immediate reaction from the Russian government.
Fighter jets from Norway, Britain, Portugal, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Sweden were involved in responding to the Russian aircraft, Janzen said. Finland and Sweden are not members of NATO, and they have long refrained from joining the defensive alliance, which was formed after World War II as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
But military incidents with Russia this year have caused both countries to start to reevaluate their positions. Most recently, the Swedish military last week spent several days searching a vast territory for an unidentified underwater craft suspected to be Russian. Last month, Sweden said two Russian military planes had violated its airspace.
A Novus opinion poll released Tuesday found for the first time that more Swedes favored joining NATO than opposed it.
The most recent violation of NATO airspace was last week, when a Russian spy plane flew almost 2,000 feet into Estonian airspace. This year, NATO increased its air patrols based in the Baltics from four to 16 jets, a measure of the newly hot confrontation between the two military juggernauts.
The incidents appear to have set European militaries on edge this week. British fighter jets were scrambled Wednesday to bring a civilian Antonov cargo jet into a London airport; it stopped responding to radio calls from air traffic controllers while flying over the British capital. That caused a supersonic boom that was audible across a large stretch of southeastern England.

Missy Ryan contributed to this report.

NATO Secretary General thanks Greece for Allied contributions

• Last updated: 30 Oct. 2014

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked Greece for its unwavering support to the Alliance during a visit to Athens on Thursday (30 October 2014). “We thank you for all the contributions you make to our shared security,” the Secretary General said. “This commitment has been sustained despite difficult times. Throughout, Greece has remained an active and effective member of our Alliance and for over 60 years, NATO has been committed to keeping Greece safe.”

Security challenges in Eastern Europe and in North Africa and the Middle East are top of the agenda the Secretary General's talks with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. “We face many challenges in many ways and  from many directions. This is why we must keep NATO strong. We must work with our partners to bring more stability to our neighbourhood. And we must keep the bond between Europe and North America rock solid,” the Secretary General said.
Turning to the crisis in Ukraine, the Secretary General called on Russia to end its destabilising actions, withdraw its forces, and make genuine efforts to ensure the ceasefire is respected. He said the planned holding of so-called elections by armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine “would undermine the Minsk agreements and would not contribute to a peaceful solution.”
Together with Greek Defence Minister Dimitrios Avramopoulos, the Secretary General also visited the Greek Frigate HNS Salamis to observe a regular joint exercise which demonstrated maritime and rapid reaction capabilities that Greece has deployed in missions like the NATO counter-terrorism Active Endeavour operation in the Mediterranean.