On the morning of Thursday, May 27, 1999, President Lennart Meri and Mrs. Helle Meri travelled to the island of Crete, where the Estonian Head of State and the Estonian delegation were first received by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Herakleion.

President Meri opened the Estonian-Cretan business seminar. Mihkel Pärnoja, the Minister of Economic Affairs, gave a presentation on the Estonian economy, and the seminar was followed by bilateral meetings between the Estonian and Cretan businessmen.

Yesterday at noon, President Meri and Mrs. Helle Meri had a meeting with Kostas Aslanis, the Mayor of Herakleion, and other leaders of the capital of Crete. President Meri received the Medal of Merit of Herakleion as a recognised statesman and scholar of culture and history. President Meri spoke to the public about the relations between Estonia and Greece, saying that both countries are situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Estonia on the coast of the Mediterranean of the North and Greece on the coast of the Mediterranean of the South, i. e. the Greek Sea. Hope was expressed that the relations between the two countries would be further activated.

On the meeting with the Greek journalists, President Meri has been asked questions about the end of the war in Kosovo. As President Meri said, there are no nations not looking forward to the end of this war.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, May 28, 1999

back | archive of press releases | main page