US cancels arms shipment over Greek objections: official



La Grecia non ha permesso il transito di armi americane destinate ad Israele.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –

The US military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a US warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday.

"I think the Greek government had some issue with the offloading of some of that shipment in their country and so we are finding alternative means of getting that entire shipment to its proper destination in Israel," spokesman Geoff Morrell told a news conference.

"I don't think we've come to a final resolution on how or when that will take place."

The shipment had been agreed last summer before the current Israeli offensive in Gaza, he said.

He said the United States had operated the munitions stockpile for nearly 20 years and that Israel "can ask for permission to access" the munitions.

He said he did not know the nature of Greece's objection and whether it was related to security or political concerns.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/pl_afp/mideastconflictgazaisraelusmilitary_20090113191511