The World : Greece to Close U.S. Base

Greece said it will close the important U.S. Hellenikon Air Base outside Athens. “One of the decisions of the Greek government is the abolition of the Hellenikon base,” government spokesman Sotiris Kostopoulos told reporters in Athens. Negotiations between Greece and the United States on a new agreement for American military bases have been deadlocked since they began last November. Greece has notified Washington that the present agreement will be terminated in December and that the Americans will then have 17 months to leave unless a new accord is signed. Hellenikon is adjacent to Athens international airport and uses the same runways as commercial flights into Greece.