Daily Archives: October 8, 2014

Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos on Tuesday asked the head of Greece’s armed forces to determine what caused a mortar tube explosion at a military firing range near Volos in central Greece, which killed three soldiers and left a fourth seriously injured.

The blast occurred at around 1.30 p.m. when an 81-millimeter mortar shell exploded in the barrel. Two professional soldiers, 33-year-old Giorgos Orfanidis and 34-year-old Anastasios Mezalas, were killed instantly along with 19-year-old Fotios Andrikopoulos, who was doing his military service. A fourth soldier, aged 30 and identified only as K.V., sustained stomach injuries and was transferred to a Volos hospital where doctors said his injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

Avramapoulos announced three days of mourning in the armed forces and said he would announce the results of an investigation into the circumstances of the blast as soon as they are available.

source: ekathimerini.com

Cyprus on Tuesday pulled out of the latest round of United Nations-buffered peace talks in protest at apparent attempts by Turkey to encroach on Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and called on the international community to condemn Ankara’s “provocative behavior.”

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades made the decision after gaining the endorsement of Cypriot political party leaders, according to government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, who said Turkey’s behavior had left Nicosia with “no other choice.” The spokesman called on “all other countries, and especially our European Union partners, as well as permanent members of the [UN] Security Council to react to Turkey’s action.”

Christodoulides was referring to plans by Turkish authorities to conduct seismic research off the island’s southern coast, in areas where Cyprus already has licenses to drill for natural gas. “The Republic of Cyprus will continue to exercise its sovereign rights,” he said.

The decision means that a scheduled meeting Thursday between Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and the UN’s special envoy to Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, will not go ahead.

Eroglu condemned Nicosia’s move as “the wrong stance,” saying it proved that Greek-Cypriot efforts to solve the Cyprus problem “were not sincere.” He added that he had previously asked Anastasiades to temporarily suspend plans for drilling off the island’s coast and that the Greek-Cypriot side had ignored his warnings.

There was no comment from the UN camp but sources said that Barth Eide, who arrived in Nicosia Tuesday, called a meeting with his aides to discuss the developments.

The Greek Foreign Ministry, which has backed Nicosia in the dispute with Cyprus, yesterday lodged a complaint with Turkish Ambassador in Athens Kerim Uras. Meanwhile Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos discussed the matter by telephone with his Cypriot counterpart, Ioannis Kasoulides.

source: ekathimerini.com