Cyprus said on Friday that Turkey must open its ports to Greek Cypriots without setting conditions, rejecting Ankara's stand that it would do so only if the EU established trade links with the Turkish Cypriots. The European Union has told Turkey, which is negotiating EU membership, that it must lift its blockade on Greek Cypriot ship and air traffic, and is expected to assess Turkish compliance this year. Non compliance would further complicate Ankara's troubled talks with the bloc. Cyprus is an EU member, represented by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government. "Unfortunately, Turkey has not taken even one step to meet its obligations," said Stefanos Stefanou, a Greek Cypriot government spokesman. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis said on Thursday that Ankara wanted guarantees the bloc would end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots before it would open its ports to the Greek Cypriots. The Greek Cypriots say Turkey's obligation is unconditional.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday sought to present himself as the “responsible” choice to lead the country after securing the approval of President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament on Monday and pave the way for early elections on October 4. “The interests of the country dictated my decision to end the current political uncertainty,” Karamanlis said following talks with Papoulias, who said he hoped the premier’s move would “serve the interests of the people.” Although stressing that his decision was an act of “responsibility,” the premier made it clear that pressure exerted by the main opposition PASOK had forced his hand. “I do not have the right to allow the country to be dragged through a catastrophic pre-election atmosphere for six months,” he said.
NATO and the European Union must work together more closely in Afghanistan because the current lack of cooperation is endangering troops on the ground, the alliance's head said on Friday. Behind the scenes, diplomats and strategists have increasingly voiced their anger about the lack of security agreements between NATO and the EU because of a tussle involving Turkey and EU member Cyprus. Rasmussen, who took over as head of the Western military alliance on Aug. 1, said he would launch an initiative soon to address the problem. Diplomats have said Turkey's frustration over by being sidelined by the European Union and its long dispute with Cyprus are hindering NATO-EU relations. Diplomats told Reuters earlier this year that due to pressure from Turkey, NATO troops in Afghanistan were not sharing plans and documents about the security situation with EUPOL, the EU's police training force there. They said Turkey was refusing to accept any agreements on mutual security between NATO and the EU, and that EUPOL had to strike agreements with each country instead -- which they said was dangerous and caused uncertainty among troops.
The authorities in Abkhazia are ready to use weapons to stop Georgia’s “piracy” in its territorial waters. Many analysts have expressed fears it may draw Moscow into a new conflict with Tbilisi. Georgia considers Abkhazia “an occupied territory” and has detained this year alone 23 ships under various flags bound from Abkhazia. Merchant ships may pass territorial waters of other states, but Georgia halt vessels on the grounds of fighting the smuggling of goods. Tbilisi is guided in its actions against foreign ships by its own law on the sea. A Georgian court this week sentenced a captain of a Turkish tanker to 24 years in prison for smuggling. The tanker was carrying fuel to Abkhazia, recognized by Russia as an independent state. The President of Abkhazia Sergey Bagapsh – who had ordered the republic’s navy to prevent by all means Georgian warships from “pirating” – said the assistance of the Russian Navy or coastguards was not needed. Many analysts, however, doubt that Abkhazia has enough potential to conduct military operations against a Georgian fleet, which is also estimated as weak. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko said on September 3 that Tbilisi’s capturing of Abkhazia-bound vessels is “nothing other than an outrageous violation of the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 and acts of international lawlessness.” The continuation of this practice may lead to violence, Nesterenko warned Tbilisi.
The Russian and Romanian Foreign Ministries have expressed their concern with the situation in Kosovo. Andrei Nesterenko from the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “considerable conflict potential“ persisted in Kosovo, and that he expected international community representatives to act impartially to prevent "new anti-Serb provocation." Nesterenko told a briefing in Moscow that events in the province “show that considerable conflict potential remains“ and that the most recent inter-ethnic clashes were a result of the Kosovo Albanians’ desire to compress Serb ethnic territory at all costs. He added that the clashes highlighted the lack of progress in lifting the “ wall of alienation“ that divides Serbs and Albanians. Meanwhile, the Romanian Foreign Ministry voiced its concern on Thursday about the worsening situation in Kosovo and condemned the attacks on EULEX and the violence in August. Romania has a contingent of 150 troops in KFOR and 176 officers in EULEX.
The OSCE found a large number of cases in Kosovo where property, which belonged to the displaced Serbs, was sold without their knowledge, and most often with forged personal documents and seals. Due to their absence, the IDPs were not aware of transactions until later, reads the report the OSCE presented in Pristina. It was pointed out that the sale was conducted based on forged documents, which has led to serious violation of human rights and represented an obstacle to the return of the displaced Serbs and restitution of their property. According to records of the OSCE Commission, there are 70 cases where it is suspected the crime of the illegal residential property. Sale was committed.
Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the All-Holy Spirit, In this new ecclesiastical year we, the Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, greet you with paternal love. In support of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), our collective college campus ministry, we have designated Sunday, September 20, 2009 as OCF College Student Sunday, and we ask that faithful Orthodox Christians in North America call to mind and prayer our beloved college students. Faced with a secular and morally threatening society, our college students are continually assaulted by influences that attempt to sway them from their Orthodox Christian faith. Holding the hope that they might safely navigate the crucially important years of college and mature into pious and faithful adults, we are committed to provide them any and all ministries for the challenging transition from adolescence to adulthood. The instruction and teaching of OCF's inspiring wisdom and righteousness is a critical enhancement to their lives that we seek to develop. We ask all of our clergy to remind parishioners of this important ministry on OCF College Student Sunday, and to provide students an opportunity to share their OCF experiences with all the faithful in their parishes. We encourage support for the work of national ministry and we call upon all the faithful to remember our students in their prayers before God, so that He may continue to shed His abundant blessings on them. With great thanks to God and to all those who share in the OCF ministry, we pray that our college students may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and be a sign of His presence in the College Campuses of our Country. With paternal blessings and love in Christ, +Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; +Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; +Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary, Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America; +Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA; +Archbishop NICOLAE, Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas; +Metropolitan JOSEPH, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church; +Metropolitan JONAH, Orthodox Church in America; +Metropolitan CONSTANTINE, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA; +Archpriest Alexander Abramov; Acting Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA; +Bishop ILIA of Philomelion, Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America