Today, President Lennart Meri continued his state visit to the Republic of Greece. In the morning, the head of state put a wreath on the grave of the Unknown Soldier in the centre of Athens.

Co-operation between the parliaments of the two states was discussed in the meeting with the Chairman of the Greek parliament Vouli Apostolos Kaklamanis. Apostolos Kaklamanis said that the Greek-Baltic friendship group of the Greek parliament already has a successful co-operation with the parliaments of Latvia and Lithuania. President Lennart Meri promised to help to tighten the co-operation with the Estonian Riigikogu.

Development of the co-operation between the two states was also discussed in the meeting in the parliament and it was resolved to grant the Pytheas medal to those citizens of Estonia and Greece who have contributed to the co-operation between the two states in politics, culture and economy.

At noon, President Meri opened the Estonian-Greek Economic Seminar in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Athens, where speeches were delivered by the head of state and the Minister of Economy Mihkel Pärnoja and President of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Toomas Luman. You can read the greeting of the President of the Republic of Estonia to the Estonian-Greek Economic Seminar at the Internet homepage of the President at www.president.ee.

Today, President Meri met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Greece Constatinos Simitis and they discussed mutual issues and the situation in Kosovo, where they found that it is most important to end the war as fast as possible and enable the people of Kosovo to return safely to their homeland. Simitis said that bombing could not lead to any solutions, but a fast and peaceful solution must be found, which at the same time would not alter the present bordered of the Balkan states.

Prime Minister Simitis supported the openness of the European Union and the expansion of NATO and said that Russia can not veto the expansion of NATO, but at the same time good relations with Russia are important.

Prime Minister Simitis said that in the next few months, Greece will open its embassy in Tallinn. Mutual relations need to be developed, the agreements that are missing at the moment must be concluded, and more attention should be paid to the exchange of goods and cultural co-operation.

Tonight, the President of the Republic of Estonia will deliver his speech “Europe: Where Do We Come From, Where Are We Going?” in the University of Athens.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, May 25, 1999

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