[MGSA-L] Greek army munitions safe from Cyprus-style blast, says minister

June Samaras june.samaras at gmail.com
Sat Jul 23 13:38:17 PDT 2011


Greek army munitions safe from Cyprus-style blast, says minister
July 23, 2011 02:02 AM
Agence France Presse

ATHENS: Greece Friday said its army munitions were in safe storage
after a massive ordnance blast in neighboring Cyprus killed 13 people
and blew out a key power plant.

“There is no danger from army munitions,” Defense Minister Panos
Beglitis told parliament according to the semi-state Athens News
Agency.

“We follow and closely adhere to all international rules and NATO
guidelines on the matter, as regards guarding as well as maintenance,”
he said.

The Cyprus government was plunged into a political crisis after the
July 11 blast at a naval base, with the defense and foreign ministers
already having resigned and the junior government partner considering
pulling out altogether.

Beglitis was also quizzed over Greece’s delays in destroying its
anti-personnel mine stock as a signatory of the Ottawa convention in
2002.

The minister accused Greek state contractor Hellenic Defense Systems
(EAS), which undertook the project in 2008, of failing to meet its
obligations.

“Out of 1.57 million mines only 616,000 were destroyed, namely 39
percent,” Beglitis said.

EAS, which Greece now plans to sell among scores of state assets to
reduce its huge sovereign debt, had assigned the project to two
sub-contractors who also fell behind schedule, Beglitis said.

Greece would now renegotiate the contract hoping for a conclusion in
the next 18 months, the minister said.
		
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily
Star on July 23, 2011, on page 9.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2011/Jul-23/Greek-army-munitions-safe-from-Cyprus-style-blast-says-minister.ashx#ixzz1SxlFUtIQ
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)


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June Samaras
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E-mail : june.samaras at gmail.com



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