GREECE, RUSSIA IN FIRST EVER MILITARY PACT.

Greek defense minister Gerasimos Arsenis and his Russian counterpart, Pavel Grachev, signed the first ever military cooperation agreement yesterday at a special ceremony in the Greek Defense Ministry. "The agreement turns a new page in relations between Greece and Russia and the prospects of cooperation in this military field are bright," Grachev told a joint news conference with Arsenis. The talks between the two ministers also covered ongoing efforts to resolve the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The pact calls for cooperation in joint weapons production, and supply and technical assistance and training for Greece from Russia. (8)

During the four-year crisis in the former Yugoslavia, Greece and Russia have ardently supported the Serbs, with whom they share traditional ties of friendship and a common Christian Orthodox faith.

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