American Jewish leaders visit Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece – A group of American Jewish leaders has begun a five-day visit to Greece, amid an improvement in once cool ties between Greece and Israel.

The delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations visited a Holocaust memorial Tuesday in this northern Greek city. They are due to meet Prime Minister George Papandreou in Athens on Thursday.

Greek and Israeli officials say the two countries are in preliminary talks on potential energy deals involving Israeli offshore natural gas deposits.

Greece, now battling financial crisis, has traditionally close ties with Arab countries and the Palestinians.

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Online:

Greece Foreign Ministry statement: http://bit.ly/f99l2Q