General Vasko Karangeleski - killed in a mysterious hunting accident on 7 February 1977. I wonder if these two events below are connected in some way? Maybe or Maybe not? Greek Defence Minister Averoff visit to Yugoslavia in 1976 - and closer military ties between Greece and SFRY. In 1977 Yugoslav Army Chief visits Greece and is given a medal. link: search.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976ATHENS10970_b.html C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 10970 EO 11652: GDS TAGS: PFOR GR YO SUBJECT: DEFENSE MINISTER AVEROFFS VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIA REF: ATHENS 10792 (NOTAL) LONDON FOR KINSOLVING TO PASS AMBASSADOR KUBISCH 1. BEGIN LIMITED OFFICIAL USE. DEFENSE MINISTER AVEROFFS OCT 5-8 OFFICIAL VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIA GENERATED CONSIDERABLE PRESS COVERAGE IN GREECE, AND MUCH LOCAL SPECULA- TION AS TO THE FUTURE NATURE OF DEFENS COOPERATION BETWEEN YUGOSLAVIA AND GREECE. THE LOCAL PRESS HAS CARRIED STORIES RANGING FROM THE SUGGESTION AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHICH THE GREEK ARMY HAS WITHDRAWN CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ATHENS 10970 130627Z ITS FORCES FROM THE GRECO-YUGOSLAV FRONTIER, THROUGH A REPORT THE TWO NATIONS WOULD ENGAGE IN THE JOINT MANUFACTURE OF LIGHT ARMS, TO INTIMATIONS THAT SOME SORT OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES WAS IN THE MAKING. 2. MINISTER AVEROFFS PUBLIC REMARKS IN YUGOSLAVIA THAT IF NECESSARY GREECE AND YUGOSLAVIA WILL MARCH HAND IN HAND FOR THE SAKE OF FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE HELPED FEED THIS SPECULATION. HOWEVER, HIS COMMENT TO THE PRESS WHEN HE RETURNED TO ATHENS OCT 8 THAT GRECO- YUGOSLAV COOPERATION WILL IN NO WAY TAKE THE FORM OF AN ALLIANCE HELPED TO STILL THE MOST EXAGGERATED SUGGESTIONS OF POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DEFENSE FIELD IN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. 3. AVEROFF REITERATED AT THE SAME TIME HERE THE POINT HE HAD MADE EARLIER IN BELGRADE: YUGOSLAVIA HAPPENS TO BE A NON-ALIGNED COUNTRY, HE SIAD, AND I AM CONVINCED IT WILL REMAIN NON-ALIGNED...WE ARE NOT NON-ALIGNED, WE BELONG TO THE WEST, BUT WE HAVE AN INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY AND BECAUSE OF OUR TRADITIONS, GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS AND SHARED PROBLEMS, WE WISH TO COOPERATE VERY CLOSELY WITH YUGOSLAVIA. WE TOO (LIKE YUGOSLAVIA) WISH TO COOPERATE WITH ALL OUR NEIGHBORS. OUR COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAVIA DOES NOT IMPLY THAT WE ARE TURNING AGAINST ANYONE ELSE... AVEROFF INDICATED THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE CONTACTS BETWEEN GREECE AND YUGOSLAVIA, INCLUDING ON SUCH SUBJECTS AS OIL PIPELINES, EXPLOITATION OF THE AXIOS RIVER, ETC, AND WE SHALL ALSO DISCUSS MILITARY SUBJECTS. HE ADDED THAT AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES IS TO BE EXCLUDED BOTH BECAUSE YUGOSLAVIA IS NONALIGNED AND ALSO BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. END LIMITED OFFICIAL USE. 4. BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL. DEFENSE MINISTER AVEROFF TOLD CHARGE OCT 11 THAT UNDER GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FROM PRIME MINISTER CARAMANLIS HE HAD TOLD YUGOSLAV DEFENSE MINISTER LJUBICIC THAT IN TIME OF TROUBLE YUGOSLAVIA COULD COUNT ON ANYTHING IT NEEDED FROM GREECE EXCEPT TROOPS. THEY HAD DISCUSSED WIDE RANGE OF MILITARY COLLABORATION, INCLUDING JOINT ARMAMENT PRO- CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ATHENS 10970 130627Z DUCTION, TRAINING AND USE OF FACILITIES, AND MILITARY EXPERTS OF BOTH COUNTRIES WILL EXPLORE SPECIFIC POSSIBILITIES. AVEROFF SAID HE HAD ASSURED LJUBICIC THAT GREEK TROOPS NEAR YUGOSLAV BORDER WERE NOT DIRECTED AGAINST THAT COUNTRY BUT WERE RESERVES POINTED ELSEWHERE. CONTRARY TO PRESS REPORTS THAT THEY WOULD BE WITHDRAWN, AVEROFF SAID THEY WOULD REMAIN BECAUSE THAT WAS GOOD LOCATION FROMWHICH THEY COULD RAPIDLY BE BROUGHT TOBEAR TO BLOCK HISTORICALLY DANGEROUS INVASION ROUTE FROM BULGARIA INTO GREECE THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN YUGOSLAVIA. 5. AVEROFF SAID YUGOSLAVS HAVE GREAT SUSPICION AND MISTRUST OF BULGARIANS WHOM THEY SEE BOTH AS STALKING HORSE FOR SOVIETS AND AS CLAIMANTS FOR YUGOSLAV MACEDONIA. THEY FEAR THAT IF THERE IS EVER SERIOUS TROUBLE WITH SOVIETS, BULGARIANS WOULD INVADE AND COULD POSSIBLY TAKE BELGRADE. AVEROFF, HOWEVER, WAS IMPRESSED WITH ORGANIZED GUERILLA RESISTANCE FORCE OF 1,200,000 LED BY REGULAR MILITARY OFFICERS WHICH HE BELIEVES WOULD COST BULGARIANS HALF A MILLION CASUALTIES IN SUCH AN INVASION AND MAKE CONTINUED OCCUPATION OF COUNTRY UNTENABLE. 6. AS LONG-TIME OBSERVER OF YUGOSLAVIA, AVEROFF EXPRESSED OPINION THAT NOTHING SPECTACULAR WOULD HAPPEN AFTER TITOS DEATH BUT THAT SUCCESSION WOULDPASS TO COLLEGIUM OF LEADING PERSONALITIES, GIVING TIME FOR NEW POWER RELATIONSHIPS TO EMERGE NATURALLY. HE THINKS TITO HAS DONE MASTERFUL JOB IN SATISFYING ASPIRATIONS OF AUTONOMOUS STATES SZ DFMING THEM EFFECTIVELY INTO FEDERAL SYSTEM. POSSIBLE EXCEPTION IS MACEDONIA WHERE OLDER GENERATION OF LEADERS IS STILL AROUND AND MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO TURN TO MOSCOW FOR PROTECTION IF BULGARIAN PRETENSIONS TOWARD MACEDONIAN TERRITORY SEEMED TOO THREATENING. -------------------------------------- 1977 - YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF VISITS GREECE AND IS GIVEN MEDAL DIA WASHDC C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 4292 EO 11652: GDS TAGS: PFOR, GR, YO, MPOL SUB: YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF VISITS ATHENS REF: 76 ATHENS 10970 (DTG 121723Z OCT 76) 1. BEGIN UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY: YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF AND ARMED FORCES DEPUTY CHIEF, COLONEL GENERAL PEKIC, VISITED GREECE APRIL 25-MAY 1 AS AN OFFICIAL GUEST OF HIS GREEK COUNTERPART, LT. GENERAL AGAMMENON GRATSIOS. DURING HIS VISIT, PEKIC WAS DECORATED BY DEFENSE MINISTER AVEROFF, MET WITH RANKING OFFICERS OF ALL THREE GREEK MILITARY SERVICES AND WITNESSED VARIOUS TRAINING EXERCISES. 2. THE VISIT OPENED WITH THE REQUIRED WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY AT THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLIDER AND WAS FOLLOWED BY A SERIES OF PROTOCOL CALLS ON THE RANKING GREEK MILITARY OFFICIALS. AVEROFF AWARDED PEKIC THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX WHICH THE GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER SAID EMPHASIZED THE CLOSE RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND YUGOSLAVIA, AND THE CLOSE COOPERATION WHICH EACH SIDE WISHED TO CONTINUE. SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES AT THE GREEK PENTAGON AND ELSEWHERE WERE SAID TO HAVE CENTERED ON BILATERAL DEFENSE MATTERS. 3. THE SCHEDULE FOR GENERAL PEKIC INCLUDED A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES. HE WAS TAKEN TO THE NAVAL TRAINING HEADQUARTERS AT SKARAMANGA WHERE HE WAS BRIEFED AND WATCHED A DISPLAY BY FROGMEN. LATER AT TANAGRA, HIS GREEK HOSTS SHOWED HIM THE BASE, EXPLAINING ITS MISSION AND MODE OF OPERATION. HE LIKEWISE WENT TO THE FLIGHT SIMULATOR SECTION, SAW A STATIC DEMONSTRATION OF MIRAGE AND F-104 AIRCRAFT, AND WATCHED SOME MIRAGE AIRCRAFT STAGE TAKEOFFS. BEFORE RETURNING TO BELGRADE, THE YUGOSLAV GENERAL CALLED ON THIRD ARMY CORPS COM- MANDER KRITIKOS AND WENT TO THE TRAINING CENTER AT RENDINA INNORTHERN GREECE. END UNCLASSIFIED 4. BEGIN CONFIDENTIAL. COMMENT: THIS APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN PART OF A SERIES OF EXCHANGE VISITS BETWEEN GREEK-YUGOSLAV MILITARY LEADERS. FOR EXAMPLE, DEFENSE MINISTER AVEROFF VISITED YUGOSLAVIA LAST YEAR ACCOMPANIED BY THE THEN DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE GREEK ARMY, GENERAL KARAYANNIS (REFTEL). GREEK ARMY CHIEF GRATSIOS TOLD THE ARMA THE OTHER DAY THAT ALTHOUGH THE PEKIC VISIT WAS ESSENTIALLY OF A PROTOCOL NATURE, WHAT IMPRESSED THE GREEK SIDE MOST WAS THAT ALL THE YUGOSLAV MILITARY SEEM GENUINELY UNITED ON THE ISSUE OF FIRMLY OPPOSING ANY OUTSIDE PRESSURES DESIGNED TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE INTHE INTERNAL SITUATION IN THEIR COUNTRY AFTER TITO LEAVES THE SCENE. link: search.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1977ATHENS04292_c.html
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 17:35:09 +0000
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