Military

ESDP

¨         EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday he was optimistic a deadlock between rivals Greece and Turkey which has hamstrung the bloc's Rapid Reaction Force would soon be broken. "We are working very carefully on that and I do think we are at a moment when positions are closer," Solana told reporters before a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Simitis.   An EU diplomat said after the Simitis-Solana meeting: "We are continuing efforts to move forward on an EU-NATO agreement. We've been in so many 99.99 percent situations before - really we will only know we have a deal when we have a deal." Diplomats were reluctant to predict when an agreement would be clinched, but one said it could be announced on the second day of the 15-nation bloc's summit in Brussels on Friday. "There is now a certain optimism," a Greek diplomat said.  Solana said he hoped a deal could be reached well before a NATO summit in Prague on November 21-22.(Reuters 1823 241002 Oct 02 GMT)

¨         Greece said on Thursday it had agreed on a way forward to break a deadlock with Turkey which has hamstrung the EU's Rapid Reaction Force.  Foreign Minister Papandreou said Greece would put proposals to its EU partners on the second day of the 15-nation bloc's summit in Brussels on Friday -- but these would still have to be put to Ankara. "We're getting close," Papandreou told reporters after a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Simitis and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on the margins of the summit. We'll have some proposals tomorrow to discuss and hopefully we'll have everybody on board. We're trying a different tactic...it may be more effective and more of a win-win situation for everyone."(Reuters 2336 241002 Oct 02 GMT)

NATO-RUSSIA-TERRORISM

¨         NATO's Secretary General Robertson appealed Thursday for the Chechen gunmen holding hundreds of people in a Moscow theater to release their hostages. "We are witnessing another act of senseless violence directed at innocent civilians by a group of terrorists," Lord Robertson said in a statement. "I appeal to the terrorists to lay down their weapons, release the hostages and surrender." Robertson said all NATO nations "are determined in their resolution to fight terrorists and we express our solidarity with Russia and offer our sympathy to the families of the hostages."(AP 241335 Oct 02 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

¨         Britain has arrested a man wanted in several countries as a top al Qaeda figure in Europe, Britain's Times newspaper reported on Friday.  The Times said special British anti-terror units had swooped on a house in south London and arrested Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric who disappeared last December after British officials seized his passport and froze his assets.   Qatada is wanted in Jordan on terror-related charges, and was described by a Spanish judge as the spiritual leader of Osama bin Laden's militant network in Europe.  The Times said German, Italian and French intelligence agencies had also collected evidence against him.  A spokesman for Britain's Home Office (Interior Ministry) said authorities had arrested a foreigner under new anti-terror laws on Wednesday, but would not comment on whether the suspect was Qatada or where the arrest took place.  The Times said Qatada had broken his cover a few days ago after 10 months on the run, by issuing a 10-page document on the Internet defending the September 11 attacks.(Reuters 2355 241002 Oct 02 GMT)