President Lennart Meri and Mrs. Helle Meri received Konstantinos Stephanopoulus, the President of the Republic of Greece, who had arrived in Estonia for a state visit, and his accompanying delegation, on the welcoming ceremony at 3:00 PM in front of the Kadriorg Palace today. In honour of President Stephanopoulus, the Guard of Honour from the Single Guard Battalion had been lined up, and Lieutenant Hannes Meimre reported to the Presidents; the orchestra of the Estonian Defence Forces played the Greek and Estonian national anthems.

On the meeting of the two Presidents, Estonia's accession to the European Union and NATO was discussed, and the Greek President emphasised that in the opinion of Greece, Estonia will be one of the first to accede to the European Union. As the Greek President said, the structural reform of the European Union and the enlargement are both important. Also the situation in Russia and in the Caucasus were discussed.

President Lennart Meri informed on the meeting that the President's Cultural Foundation had decided to establish a Pytheas of Massilia Scholarship of 10,000 Estonian kroons in honour of the Greek explorer from Marseilles; the scholarship will be awarded to an Estonian translator, researcher or other individual who has contributed significantly to a better understanding between the Estonian and Greek people. President Stephanopoulus and the Greek Foreign Minister Angeliki Laiou confirmed that the Greek side will establish a similar scholarship to promote the relations between two countries.

As a present from the Republic of Estonia, President of the Republic handed over to the Greek Head of State a textile painting by Sirje Raudsepp inspired by Juhan Liiv's poem ''A Hellene and a Persian''.

From Kadriorg, President Stephanapoulus proceeded to the Secondary School of Sciences to lay a wreath to the monument of students and teachers fallen in the War of Liberty. At 7:00 PM, the President of Greece and the Estonian President, as well as Metropolitan Stephanos of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, will participate in a liturgy in the Church of Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The Greek President will also honour the grave of the first Estonian saint Bishop Platon, whose secular name was Paul Kulbusch, and who was canonised in August this year. After the liturgy, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir will sing in the church.

This evening, President Lennart Meri and Mrs. Helle Meri will host a dinner in honour of the Greek Head of State at the Tallinn House of Blackheads, where both Presidents will hold a speech. The speech of President Lennart Meri will be available on the Internet address www.president.ee. The visit that started today is a counter visit to President Meri's and Mrs. Helle Meri's state visit to Greece in May 1999.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 11, 2000

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