Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-15 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Geneva conference outcome positive, Alt.FM Katrougalos tells ANA [02] ND will not vote extension of contingency mechanism, says ND vice president Hatzidakis --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Geneva conference outcome positive, Alt.FM Katrougalos tells ANA Calmness and maturity in the negotiations on the Cyprus issue proposed Alternate Foreign Minister George Katrougalos in an interview with Athens Macedonian News Agency. Katrougalos who participated with Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and the Greek delegation in the discussions behind closed doors in Geneva underlined the importance of European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker's stance in Geneva conference that reaffirmed "EU's readiness to support a united Cyprus with clarity and calmness despite the provocations". Katrougalos called positive the outcome of the Geneva conference noting that it allows the continuation of the negotiation and the effort for a viable and fair solution for the Cyprus issue on which are focused both the Greek and Cyprus' Republic. Moreover, on Greece's stance during the negotiations he said that we insisted on the position that the Cyprus issue is not only an issue of two communities but an issue of international law and that's the way we should face it, with the recognition of the fact that Cyprus' Republic is a EU member state. He confirmed articles referring to moments of tension during the conference and underlined that they were not provoked by the Greek or the Cypriot side. [02] ND will not vote extension of contingency mechanism, says ND vice president Hatzidakis "We will overcome the crisis with seriousness, credibility and common sense" stated main opposition New Democracy (ND) vice president Costis Hatzidakis in an interview with Realnews Sunday newspaper. Hatzidakis accused the government of opportunism and ruled out the possibility ND to vote the extension of the contingency mechanism after 2018. On the early elections issue, he estimated that the matter remains open independent of the course of the negotiations for the second review because "if the government leaves time to pass then it will face the risk of total political vanishing. So, I believe that the self-preservation instinct will lead Mr.Tsipras to elections".