WEST BANK: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says his country is "on track" despite economic difficulties

Record ID: 561934

  • Title: WEST BANK: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says his country is "on track" despite economic difficulties
  • Date: 23rd July 2010
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JULY 22, 2010) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS GREETING GREECE'S PRIME MINISTER GEORGE PAPANDREOU AS HE IS GETTING OUT OF CAR HONOUR GUARD PAPANDREOU AND ABBAS WALKING ON RED CARPET HONOUR GUARD ABBAS AND PAPANDREOU SHAKING HANDS AND WALKING INTO BUILDING ABBAS AND PAPANDREOU CONVENING JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREEK PRIME MINISTER GEORGE PAPANDREOU, SAYING: "We had to take very strong, difficult and painful measure measures, in as much as possible a just way, sharing the burden in our country, to turn this crisis around and stabilize not only Greece, but also in stabilizing our economy, stabilizing the Eurozone. And I can happily tell you that despite the difficulties we are on track, we have made progress, we are making important changes of course in Greece but we are on target as far as dealing with issues such as the deficit and many important reforms." PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREEK PRIME MINISTER GEORGE PAPANDREOU, SAYING: "We talk about financial crisis or the economy, in our region, the peace process cooperation in this region can be and will be crucial for our economies, for our development, for our societies, for our peoples. That is why, for us, it is a commitment to work and help the peace process, here in the Middle East but also with our neighbour Turkey, even if we do have setbacks at times. This is important because we need to have this regional cooperation. That will be a huge contribution to the economy of the region." SECURITY MEN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS, SAYING: "It is necessary to know exactly what is the term of reference of negotiations, meaning the borders of the 1967 and to agree later on about the details and a comprehensive halt to settlements. If that happens, we are ready. We are not against direct negotiations. We want to go to direct negotiations if these two issues are met. These are not two preconditions." PAPANDREOU AND ABBAS SHAKING HANDS AND LEAVING JOURNALISTS AT AUDITORIUM
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Economic News
  • Reuters ID: LVAE7HZJOGUP03WKWYXWD2P2E2O3
  • Story Text: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, whose country lies in the midst of an economic crisis, said on Thursday (July 22) that despite the difficulties, his country is "making progress".
    His remarks came days before the results of Europe's bank stress tests are released. Results of these tests assess how banks would fare if economic conditions worsened and sovereign debt holdings declined in value. They are due on 91 European banks on July 23.
    During a joint news conference with palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Papandreou said that his country is "on track".
    "We had to take very strong, difficult and painful measure measures, in as much as possible a just way, sharing the burden in our country, to turn this crisis around and stabilize not only Greece, but also in stabilizing our economy, stabilizing the Eurozone. And I can happily tell you that despite the difficulties we are on track, we have made progress, we are making important changes of course in Greece but we are on target as far as dealing with issues such as the deficit and many important reforms," Papandreou told reporters.
    Papandreou also said that pushing the Middle East peace process forward would contribute to the region's economy.
    "We talk about financial crisis or the economy, in our region, the peace process cooperation in this region can be and will be crucial for our economies, for our development, for our societies, for our peoples. That is why, for us, it is a commitment to work and help the peace process, here in the Middle East but also with our neighbour Turkey, even if we do have setbacks at times. This is important because we need to have this regional cooperation. That will be a huge contribution to the economy of the region," he said.
    Abbas said he would agree to direct negotiations with Israel if the two issues of borders and settlements are dealt with.
    "It is necessary to know exactly what is the term of reference of negotiations, meaning the borders of the 1967 and to agree later on about the details and a comprehensive halt to settlements. If that happens, we are ready. We are not against direct negotiations. We want to go to direct negotiations if these two issues are met. These are not two preconditions," Abbas said.
    Earlier on Thursday, Abbas said he would decide in the next seven days whether conditions are now ripe to proceed to face-to-face peace talks with Israel.
    Abbas says he has a promise from Washington that if he agrees to direct negotiations, Israel would prolong a partial moratorium on West Bank settlement building that is due to expire in September.
    Also on Thursday, Papandreou held separate meetings with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    ENDS.
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