Greek elections: Merkel calls on voters to stay with Europe

Florence, 23 January 2015 (MIA) - The German chancellor has said she wants Greece to "remain part of our story" ahead of elections that could cast doubt over the country's future in the eurozone, the BBC reports. 

Angela Merkel called for unity on the last day of political campaigning.

Both Syriza and the New Democracy party will hold their final rallies later.

The possibility of a left-wing Syriza victory in Sunday's vote has sparked fears that Greece could default on its debt and exit from the euro.

Merkel urged the country to remain a part of the eurozone on Friday.

"At the heart of our principles lies solidarity," she said during a news conference in Florence with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

"I want Greece, despite the difficulties, to remain part of our story."

Speaking to crowds of supporters on Thursday night, Syriza's leader, Alexis Tsipras, repeated his promise to have half of Greece's international debt written off when the current bailout deal ends.

He said an end to "national humiliation" was near, as opinion polls showed the party in the lead with just days to go until the vote.

Greece has endured deep budget cuts tied to its massive bailout from so-called troika - the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Opinion polls suggest the gap between Syriza and the conservative New Democracy party, which heads the current government, is widening.

Syriza has moderated its stance since the peak of the eurozone crisis, and says it wants Greece to stay in the euro.

But critics say that what the party is advocating may mean Greece will be forced to leave the eurozone whether it wants to or not.

Tsipras has vowed to renegotiate the bailout agreements and to restructure country's the debt, which is currently 175% of GDP.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' New Democracy party holds its final campaign rally in Athens later, while the Syriza leader will be in Heraklion.

Syriza is tipped to win the vote but without an outright majority, and analysts say the party may struggle to find a coalition partner.

Tsipras has said he will not govern with those who support what he has called the policies of Chancellor Merkel.

Germany is seen in Greece as taking the hardest line on its debt.

Earlier this month, a spokesman for Merkel said Germany expected Greece to uphold the terms of its international bailout agreement. lk/18:32

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NATO chief warns Kosovo authorities of returning jihadists threat

Pristina, 23 January 2015 (MIA) - Visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday warned authorities in  Kosovo of the danger posed by foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq, AFP reports.

“The returning of foreign fighters is imposing a threat to all of us, of course to the countries in the region and to all European countries,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

“Therefore we have to work together in fighting terror regardless of what kind of terror it is. And terror is not something which belongs to specific group or religion.”

Earlier Friday Stoltenberg visited NATO-led international forces (KFOR) in the former Serbian province that proclaimed independence in 2008.

NATO launched its mission in Kosovo after the 1998-1999 war between the forces of then Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic and ethnic Albanian guerrillas.

Last August and September Kosovo police arrested 55 people suspected of fighting or recruiting people to fight alongside Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria as well as promoting radical Islam. According to intelligence estimates, as many as 150 citizens of Kosovo are thought to have volunteered to fight in the Syrian civil war against the forces of President Bashar Assad. Police say at least 16 have been killed so far.

Stoltenberg also met with top Kosovo officials and praised their anti-terrorism policy namely a bill, being reviewed by the parliament, that foresees severe prison terms for those fighting abroad.

“I welcome very much what the new government and Kosovo is doing in fighting terrorism, and also the new laws that you agreed,” he said. lk/19:57

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EU membership for Serbia and Albania 'strategic', says FM

Rome, 24 January 2015 (MIA) - EU membership for Serbia and Albania is of strategic importance for the stabilization and security of the entire Western Balkans, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday in a meeting with his Serbian and Albanian counterparts.

To this end, he said, Italy has always fought and will continue to play a major role.

The first three-way meeting between Rome, Belgrade and Tirana was held on Friday in the Italian Senate and sent a clear message to Brussels that the accession process for the two countries needs to be accelerated, Italian media reported.

In a meeting with Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dacic and his Albanian counterpart, Ditmit Bushati, Gentiloni underscored that the two countries' membership in the EU was a ''strategic commitment'' for the government - one reiterated by PM Matteo Renzi at the end of the Italian six-month EU presidency.

It is also, however, he said, a commitment that ''should be shared with EU partners'' since now ''we are waiting for further results''.

Belgrade and Tirana voiced appreciation for the role Rome has played as a 'bridge' to Europe, as well as for the Italian mediation in the detente in relations between Serbia and Albania. ''Italy can give us the stimulus to normalize relations, which are indispensable for the security of the entire region,'' the Serbian foreign minister said. The Western Balkans, he noted, can now more than ever set a good example of how conflicts and civil wars can be overcome.

''We have not been transformed from devils into angels,'' the Albanian minister said. ''The fact that there is no longer conflict in the Western Balkans is in part owed to prospect of becoming EU member states.''

The trilateral meeting also focused on regional cooperation in the field of energy and infrastructure as well as on EU's strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion.



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