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16 January, 1999
Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen is scheduled to arrive in Athens on Sunday night for a two-day visit, it was announced yesterday. Mr. Lipponen will meet on Monday with Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos.
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos will also receive him.
Lipponen interview: HELSINKI (ANA - E. Patouhas)
Earlier, in an interview with the ANA, Mr. Lipponen said, "Finland feels solidarity for Greece."
He said, "when issues of the region are being examined it must be taken into consideration that Greece is a European Union member-state, a fact which happens to be forgotten."
Mr. Lipponen is waiting with interest to be briefed by his Greek interlocutors on developments in the Balkan and eastern Mediterranean regions, Cyprus and the course of Turkey's relations with the EU.
Mr. Lipponen believes that Greece and Finland have a series of common interests to defend in the framework of the EU, which emanate from their geopolitical position and their production activity.
"We have a common interest of great importance relating to that we need the EU's solidarity and common policy, since we are geographically in the EU's region and in a geopolitical zone in which changes and events are taking place which are upsetting the EU in its entirety," he said.
Mr. Lipponen believes that Greece and Finland have a leading role to play in the creation of a European gas network with the former utilizing energy sources of the Caucasus region and the latter those of Russia.
Referring to Cyprus' prospects of EU accession, Mr. Lipponen said he believes that the cancellation of the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles' deployment opens new possibilities for the progress of accession negotiations.
He believes that Cyprus' accession to the EU provides the preconditions for coexistence between the two communities on the island. Replying to a relevant question, Mr. Lipponen said that Finland supports Greece's proposal on resorting to the International Court at The Hague on issues raised by Turkey.
Finland is preparing itself to assume the EU's rotating Presidency in the second half of 1999.
Mr. Lipponen said that the ultimate target is for the Helsinki summit in December 1999 to constitute a milestone for the EU of the new century and the new millennium.
Source: Athens News Agency
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