New Greek Prime Minister namedNovember 10, 2011 - 17:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Senior banker Lucas Papademos was named Thursday, November 10, as the Prime Minister of the new Greek interim government, charged with keeping the debt-strapped country out of bankruptcy and firmly in the 17-nation eurozone. After four days of intense political negotiations, the 64-year-old former vice president of the European Central Bank was chosen to lead a coalition backed by both the governing Socialists and opposition conservatives that will operate until early elections in February. He replaces outgoing Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou midway through his four-year term. A statement from the president's office said Papademos would form an interim government that will secure and implement the decisions of a €130 billion ($177 billion) European debt deal agreed upon during a summit in Brussels on Oct. 27. The new cabinet will be sworn in Friday afternoon. His selection came on the fourth day of tortuous power-sharing talks between Greece's main political parties, The Associated Press reports. The latest Greek crisis erupted last week, when Papandreou said he would put the hard-fought European debt deal, that involves private bondholders canceling 50 percent of their Greek debt holdings, to a referendum. The announcement horrified European leaders, sparked a rebellion in his own party and caused an uproar in financial markets. Papandreou withdrew the referendum plan and agreed to step aside for a unity government. ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |