Greece denies report of US-Iraq meeting
The government yesterday denied a newspaper report that it had secretly set up a meeting in Athens on Wednesday between American military officials and two top Iraqi generals to discuss the impending war against Iraq. Government spokesman Christos Protopappas said the meeting mentioned in the Sunday Vima report was no more than «a clearly private event organized every year under the responsibility of the University of California, organized by various companies with the participation of various military officials, and has no connection to negotiations between the Americans and Iraqis.» «From what I know, there will be some Iraqis there but they will probably be dissidents,» he said. «The Greek government has no involvement.» Protopappas said Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou had been asked to deliver an address, but was not involved in organizing the meeting.
