Budapest, 02/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - Following the recent dispute during NATO maneouvres in the Aegean (for the manoeuvres "Destined Glory 2000", see EUROPE of 23/24 October, p.6), Greece and Turkey have announced that they were adopting confidence-building measures and have asked NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson to contribute to the process. Certain measures (concerning military issues) will be developed in the framework of the Atlantic Alliance, others at bilateral level (like those relating to good neighbourliness). This is what the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers Georges Papandreou and Ismail Cem announced in Budapest on 31 October at the end of a meeting on the fringe of a meeting of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA). "We agreed on this procedure and it will take effect next week", said Papandreou.
As for NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, he said that Greece and Turkey had agreed on a six-point programme of confidence-building measures to be implemented from next week.