President Obama met privately this morning with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has served in that role for 18 years as spiritual father of the roughly 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. His All Holiness is known as the "Green Patriarch" for being a leading environmentalist, and hosted a conference on the environment in New Orleans when he arrived in the United States almost two weeks ago. While the Ecumenical Patriarch and the president discussed the environment, the more complicated issue is the ongoing struggle by Orthodox Christians for religious freedom in Turkey. The Turkish government has refused to recognize Bartholomew as being the worldwide leader of his Church, has insisted on being involved in the selection in future Patriarchs, and has confiscated thousands of properties belonging to the Orthodox Church. This was their second meeting after Mr. Obama met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on April 7th. After the meeting, I asked His All Holiness about his priorities during his time here in Washington, and he said meeting with the highest representatives of the Obama administration is part of that - noting that he just met with Mr. Obama, he'll meet with Vice President Biden tomorrow, and will have dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday. The Ecumenical Patriarch is also due to meet with Congressional leaders on Wednesday. "This is an honor for us, for our Church, and it is a concrete sign of the respect the American administration has for institutions with long history and valuable service to the human kind such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate," Patriarch Bartholomew said. "The Ecumenical Patriarchate is not simply the religious center, the center creating civilization, it has contributed much to the European culture and civilization. It is there. We must not forget it. It is there in Istanbul, the former Constantinople for 17 entire centuries. This interest of the White House is well understood."
The U.S. Republican Party is cheering victories in governor's races in two states that played a pivotal role in Democrat Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election victory. Many observers say the results are a referendum on Mr. Obama's policies. In an off-year election seen by some political pundits as a measure of support for President Barak Obama's popularity after his first year in office, the opposition Republicans have picked up the state house (governor's mansion) in two formerly Democratic states. In Virginia, Robert McDonnell, defeated Democratic state Senator Creigh Deeds by an overwhelming margin of 59 percent to 41 percent. McDonnell is the first Republican to win the governor's office since 2001. He celebrated his victory in the state capitol, Richmond, Virginia. In New Jersey, Democratic Governor Jon Corzine was rejected in his bid for a second term, losing to Republican Christopher Christie, a former federal prosecutor. Christie used New Jersey's struggling economy as the focal point of his campaign. Both McDonnell and Christie attracted support from independents, who voted in large numbers for Mr. Obama last year. Political analysts say Tuesday's vote suggests many independents are dissatisfied with the president's policies on such issues as the economy and health care. Political pundits say the results in Virginia and New Jersey indicate the opposition Republicans are energized, heading into next year's midterm Congressional elections.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon vowed on Wednesday to press ahead with efforts to reach a settlement between Greek and Turkish communities living on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus. “The UN has high expectations for a settlement (in Cyprus) and I believe this momentum must be kept up,” Ban said in Athens ahead of talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. “My Cyprus envoy Mr Alexander Downer will continue to talk together with the leaders of the two communities,” the UN secretary general added. Ban said he felt there was a “strong effort to facilitate this process “ on both sides and find a solution to the 35-year-old dispute. Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been locked in UN-brokered negotiations over the island’s reunification for over a year. While Christofias’ administration is internationally recognised, Talat’s Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is only recognised by Turkey. The Turkish Cypriots, backed by Ankara, want a settlement by the end of the year or early 2010 and are calling on the UN and Western powers to intervene to end the diplomatic deadlock. But Cyprus President Christofias told a Turkish newspaper on Tuesday that he did not expect any breakthrough before December. The Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.
Israeli naval special forces today seized a civilian cargo ship near Cyprus which they said was carrying weapons, including rockets, destined for the Hezbollah militant group. The ship, flying an Antiguan flag, was boarded and brought to an Israeli port after ammunition and weapons "disguised as civilian cargo" were found on board, the Israeli military said. It was intercepted 100 miles west of the Israeli coastline and brought to Ashdod.Matan Vilnai, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said the weapons included Katyusha rockets. Vilnai claimed they were destined for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006 and which Israel claims is Iranian-supported. Hezbollah fired thousands of Katyusha rockets into Israel during the conflict. "There were Katyusha, whose purpose is to hit civilians," Vilnai told Israeli Army Radio. He said the crew of the container ship had probably been unaware of the cargo they were carrying. Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, suggested the weaponry was heading to either Lebanon or Syria, saying it was destined for "the terrorist arena in the north". He described the operation to seize the ship as "another success against the relentless attempts to smuggle weapons to bolster terrorist elements threatening Israel's security".
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that his special envoy was prepared to launch new talks in an effort to resolve an 18-year name dispute between Greece and its northern neighbor, provisionally called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). "My special envoy, Matthew Nimetz, hopes to keep up the momentum for development on the main issue between Greece and FYROM and is set to restart the process of negotiations when the parties are ready," Ban said. The United Nations formally refers to the country as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), while Skopje prefers the name Republic of Macedonia. The secretary-general, on an official visit to Athens, said, "Greece is ready and will fully support and facilitate this effort." Greece and its northern neighbour have been at loggerheads over the right to the name of "Macedonia" since 1991, when Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Athens claims the name dispute implies territorial claims on its own northern province of Macedonia, where Alexander the Great was born. UN-led negotiations on the issue have proved fruitless and Greece used its veto to block Macedonia from becoming a member of NATO. The name issue has also slowed Skopje's integration into the European Union. Skopje was granted EU candidate status in 2005, but Athens has threatened to veto the beginning of the talks if a solution is not found to the name issue.
The foreign affairs and defense ministries are wrapping up preparations for opening the Serbian mission at NATO HQ, daily Večernje Novosti writes. According to the Belgrade newspaper, the government recently named Branislav Milinković as Serbia’s ambassador to the western military alliance, and he will most likely submit his credentials by the end of the year. The question of finding a location for the Serbian mission in Brussels is expected to be taken care of soon, as well as all other personnel related issues, the article says. The daily writes that the Serbian ambassador to NATO will not be alone at the mission, as a military representative "will be dispatched as well". the point of the mission will be to improve cooperation and everyday communication with NATO, participate in the work of 100 expert committees, and improve what the daily refers to as cooperation with "50 member-states" of the "political" alliance.
All missions of countries that are participating in the Partnership for Peace program are also located in the NATO headquarters, in the offices designated for partners. The enormous NATO complex is located on the outskirts of Brussels.
Georgia's foreign minister renounced his Russian citizenship Wednesday, formally cutting ties with Moscow that were formed in the Soviet era. Grigol Vashadze, 51, an ethnic Georgian and veteran diplomat, graduated in 1981 from a prestigious Moscow university and served in the Soviet Foreign Ministry before the Soviet Union's collapse.His appointment as Georgia's foreign minister in December 2008 was seen as an attempt to reach out to Russia following the war the previous August. Relations between the two former Soviet republics remain deeply strained, however. A Russian parliament member recently called for stripping Vashadze of his citizenship. Parliament refused to act on the grounds that under Russian law citizens cannot be deprived of their citizenship. Vashadze said his decision would make it easier for Russia. He sent his Russian passport and a letter renouncing his citizenship to Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, Vashadze told journalists before Wednesday's government meeting. His wife, famous ballerina and former Bolshoi Theater star Nino Ananiashvili, remains a Russian citizen. She is currently the artistic director of the ballet in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital.