Greece, Cyprus reaffirm importance
of joint defence doctrine, in joint communique
ATHENS, Greece, 02/10/1996 (ANA)
[ ... ]
"Turkey ought to repair the damage caused to the Patriarchate building in Istanbul by the recent bomb attack, since Ankara is responsible for guarding the building," Press and Media Ministry Secretary-General Yiannis Nikolaou said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the State Department yesterday condemned the hand-grenade attack against a Ecumenical Patriarchate building in Istanbul on Sunday night. "Our mission in Turkey has confirmed reports of a hand-grenade attack against the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. We absolutely condemn this act of violence. We are in touch with the Turkish government and the Patriarchate concerning the investigation of the incident," the relevant statement read.
Meanwhile, Archbishop of North and South America Spyridon yesterday strongly condemned the bomb attack on the Ecumenical Patriarchate late on Sunday night. Spyridon called on Ankara to immediately find and punish the culprits and on US President Bill Clinton and the political and religious leadership of the US to add their voices to the condemnation of those responsible for the attacks and to take action to protect the Patriarchate from repeated threats.
[ Athens News Agency - www.ana.gr - October 2, 1996 ]