EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule urged Turkey Monday to open its ports to Cyprus under a trade pact with the bloc and to press on with peace efforts with Armenia. "I had the opportunity to underline the importance the European Union attaches to the need for Turkey to fully implement the additional protocol... and normalise its relations with Cyprus," Fule told reporters after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkey has refused to implement the protocol to open its air and sea ports to EU-member Cyprus until the Union moves on its pledge to ease the international isolation of the island's breakaway Turkish-held north. Ankara also refuses to acknowledge the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government until the island's division is resolved. Turkey's stance prompted the EU in 2006 to freeze eight of the 35 chapters which candidate countries must successfully negotiate prior to membership. Fule underlined that the problem would ease if peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since September 2008 led to a solution. "We agree that a comprehensive settlement on Cyprus would be a historic breakthrough to the benefit of both Turkey and the EU," he said. Davutoglu insisted his country's membership talks should not be overshadowed by "political problems that have no direct link to the EU process, such as Cyprus".Fule also voiced support to reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Armenia to overcome a century of hostility over allegations of an Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks during World War I. The two neighbours signed a historic deal in October to establish diplomatic ties and open their border, but the process has stalled amid mutual accusations of trying to modify the deal.
II. UPI - U.S. offers Macedonia name dispute idea
The United States has proposed a solution to the name dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has been in Washington since Tuesday discussing his country's battle with a record deficit and other regional issues. Part of the talks involved a U.S. proposal for the breakaway country to rename itself Northern Macedonia, Kathimerini reported Thursday. Since declaring independence in 1991, Greece has challenged the country's name, saying Greece historically owns the name for a northern province. Sources told the newspaper if leaders in both Athens and Skopje will agree, the U.S. would officially recognize the new name and encourage the United Nations to follow suit. U.N. mediator Matthew Nimetz visited both capitals late last month and while he made no mention of the proposal, is said in diplomatic circles to favor the new name, the report said.
Israel announced the construction of 1,600 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem during US Vice President’s visit, provoking a bilateral spat that continues to escalate. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel, trumping the “unbreakable bond” between Israel and the United States. Israel’s Interior Ministry responded by announcing 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem. Is this any way to treat a global superpower, not to mention your crucial ally? A very perturbed Mr. Biden condemned the move as “precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now,” adding that "sometimes only a friend can deliver the hardest truth." But the rhetoric between the two sides did not stop there. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday joined in the chorus of condemnation, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his government's surprise announcement, which gave "a deeply negative signal" for the Mid-East peace process, as well as Israel-US relations. "The announcement of the settlements on the very day that the vice president was there was insulting," Clinton said in an interview with CNN Friday. "It was just really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone, the US, our vice president who had gone to re-assert America's strong support for Israeli security, and I regret deeply that that occurred and made that view known." The diplomatic fracas between Jerusalem and Washington comes at a very sensitive moment. Next week, Moscow will host the Quartet of Mid-East peacemakers, comprised of the US, the European Union, United Nations and Russia, for talks on how to move the peace process along. Hillary Clinton, incidentally, will be in attendance at the summit. Finally, Israel's ambassador to the US has said that relations between the two countries face their worst crisis for 35 years, Israeli media reported on Monday. Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, told a conference call with Israeli consuls general in the US that "the crisis was very serious and we are facing a very difficult period in relations", Israeli media reported on Monday. On Friday, Ambassador Oren was summoned to the US State Department and was reprimanded about the announcement, the Israeli Ynet News website reported. Ynet quoted the ambassador as saying “Israel's ties with the US are in the most serious crisis since 1975.” On Sunday, David Axelrod, a top aide to US President Barack Obama, said Israel's announcement of plans to build 1,600 homes for Jews in East Jerusalem was "destructive" to peace efforts. Axelrod said the move, which overshadowed the Vice President’s trip to Israel, was also an “insult” to the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working hard to play down the diplomatic row between the two allies, saying that he was unaware that the announcement would be made during Biden’s visit. However, in a speech Monday to Israel’s parliament, the Israeli leader argued that Jewish construction in east Jerusalem does not hurt the city's Palestinian residents. Netanyahu said the construction of homes for Jews in the city's eastern sector “in no way” hurts Palestinians, while giving no indication he would cancel the project or limit construction in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians are threatening to boycott newly agreed, indirect talks unless the Ramat Shlomo project is cancelled.
Russia has condemned as "irresponsible and immoral" a Georgian TV hoax about a Russian invasion. Panic was sparked in Georgia after the Imedi TV station broadcast news that Russian tanks had invaded the capital and the country's president was dead. The broadcast rekindled memories of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. Russia's foreign ministry said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili approved of the hoax. The ministry accused Tbilisi of "political paranoia". Georgia's mobile phone networks were overwhelmed with calls on Saturday, and many people rushed onto the streets. Pro-government Imedi TV said the aim had been to show how events might unfold if the president were killed. It later apologised. Video photo can be viewed here.
President Boris Tadić says Serbia will take part in all regional forums where Kosovo's presence is treated in line with the UN Resolution 1244. This also applies to the regional forum in Kranj, he told reporters in Novi Sad on Sunday, referring to the conference planned for later this month in Slovenia. "Those principles are more than clear, and not subject to change. Serbia will not participate in any regional forum that has no respect for UN principles, which includes respect of Resolution 1244," Tadić said after meeting with Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom. Serbia wants Albanian representatives and all Kosovo institutions to participate in regional forums, and it has no strategic aim to block cooperation and communication, but wants Kosovo's regional participation to be executed in a way that does not question Serbia's integrity. "A regional forum cannot represent an implicit recognition of Kosovo's independence, because Serbia will neither implicitly nor explicitly recognize Kosovo's independence, either by its decisions or with its participation in regional forums and meetings," Tadić said. He added that, if those principles are respected in Slovenia, Serbia will take part in the regional forum, which was also discussed at the recent meeting with Croatian and Slovenian officials.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has promised Haitians he is focused on maintaining donor solidarity as the quake-torn nation struggles to rebuild, the organization said. The effort will include an international donors' conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 31, Ban said, according to a Sunday news release. Providing shelter to displaced people, sanitation and reconstruction remain top priorities, Ban said during his second visit to the country since a massive earthquake struck January 12. "We have provided at least 700,000 people with tents, tarpaulins and plastic sheeting," he said. "This however is not enough, as it covers just 60 percent of the 1.3 million displaced persons." The nation also needs funds for schools, infrastructure, roads and power, among other things, he said. "For the foreseeable future, the government will need international assistance simply to cover its payroll -- teachers, police, doctors and nurses, civil servants and basic services," Ban said. More than 200,000 people died in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake, and large portions of the capital city were destroyed. The U.N. chief lauded international efforts to provide support. He assured Haitian President René Préval's administration that he will also work to fulfill the needs of underfunded programs such as early recovery and agriculture. But maintaining solidarity after the donors' conference and beyond is a challenge, he said, and so is the situation on the ground. "We will continue to expedite this process before the rainy season and the hurricane season arrive," he said. "We are a little behind schedule, but any fully effective coordination to provide humanitarian assistance to such a large number of displaced persons has always been a great challenge."
As we continue on our Lenten journey, I would like to share a few thoughts and reflections on this holiest period of the liturgical year, as well as Holy and Great Week. During the remaining period of Great Lent, there are two particular Sundays on which I would like to focus. The first of these Sundays, which is the fourth Sunday of the Fast, is dedicated to the memory of St. John Climacus, or St. John of the Ladder. St. John is commemorated during Lent because of his great spiritual work called The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Although this work was written specifically for the monastic world, the author being a monk himself, St. John’s “Ladder” is a classic work of Orthodox spiritually that speaks to all members of the Church, in all places and in all times. His book presents us with a spiritual ladder ascending to heaven, with each rung representing a particular vice or passion to be conquered in order to proceed upward. The approach is very straightforward and logical, being that going that next step in our spiritual growth necessitates overcoming the sinful obstacles, which have kept us in the state where we presently find ourselves. An important part of understanding our spiritual lives as an ascent, is the possibility of falling down a few rungs, or even completely off the ladder, which is the reality that we constantly face. In fact, the classic icon of St. John and his ladder clearly depicts the successful ascent of those truly holy and spiritually advanced monks, versus those who have succumb to various passions, causing them to fall into the pit of hell. The following Sunday, the fifth Sunday of the Fast, we commemorate our Venerable Mother, Mary the Egyptian. This former prostitute who sought tearful reconciliation with Christ and became a desert wanderer in order to live out her repentance, is the example par excellence, of the repentant sinner. Her story is quite moving, and very motivating to anyone who is unrepentant and continues to carry the burden of sin. The Church, in Her Spirit-filled great wisdom, places the memory of St. Mary of Egypt on the last Sunday of Great Lent, as a spiritual “wake-up” call to us to finish the race and accomplish the goal of sincere repentance. If we have truly made some serious efforts during Great Lent, then we hopefully have reached the point of repentance which will lead us to the holy mystery of confession, prior to the celebration of the Lord’s passion and resurrection. We must remember that repentance and confession are key components of the spiritual life, because without them there is no true spiritual life, but only a meager attempt, at best. So thus, Great Lent comes to a close during the week after the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt. Specifically, Lent ends on the following Friday at the reading of the 9th hour, immediately preceding the vespers of St. Lazarus, included in the service of the Presanctified Gifts. Many of our faithful do not realize that the forty day fast ends on this particular Friday, and that Holy Week is separate from Great Lent, standing on its own as a solemn week of strict fasting in commemoration of the last days of our Lord on earth. This is important to know, because the focus of Great Lent and Holy Week are different. Great Lent is a time for deep, personal reflection. The entire spirit of the forty day fast, is that of an intense spiritual journey that brings us back to God through our spiritual efforts, in order to be properly prepared for Holy Pascha, the greatest of all feasts. In contrast, Holy and Great Week is totally focused on the Lord and His passion and burial, hence the strict fast. In Holy Week, we follow the Lord during His last days, and hear his final teachings and warnings about the Kingdom of Heaven and His second glorious coming to earth for the final judgment. As we all know and have experienced each year, the darkness of Holy Week gradually gives way to the brightness and joy of the Resurrection. This is most profoundly exemplified in the Orthros of Holy Saturday, popularly known as the Epitaphios Lamentation, celebrated on Holy Friday evening. Beloved in Christ, our Orthodox Church is at its absolute best, so to speak, during Great Lent and especially Holy Week. This is not to say that there is anything inferior about the remainder of the liturgical year, which in reality, is actually a reflection of Holy Pascha, which gives light and life to everything we do in the Church. It is precisely because of the magnitude of the feast of Pascha, that such liturgical beauty experienced through hymnography and ritual is presented to the faithful for their spiritual edification. May we all take advantage of what remains of Great Lent, and thus, be prepared to enter Holy and Great Week with eager anticipation and love for the Bridegroom Christ. This should be the highlight of the year for each and every Orthodox Christian who truly loves the Church.