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INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS

UNCLAS ATHENS 000081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER OTRA GR
SUBJECT: LOGISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 22-23 RSI MEETINGS IN ATHENS 
 
¶1.  (U) Embassy Athens, in conjunction with the State Department's 
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT), is pleased 
to host the February 22 Iraq and Neighbors and the February 23 
Eastern Mediterranean Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) meetings. 
Our goal is to make the RSI, and your stay with us, a success. 
This cable contains logistical information for participants, 
including lodging and transportation arrangements and conference 
costs. 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) COUNTRY CLEARANCE: All participants other than DOD must send 
e-country clearance requests with detailed arrival/departure 
information to Embassy Athens directly, or via S/CT for Embassy 
Athens for interagency participants.  We ask that you send eCC 
requests as soon as possible to facilitate our providing services 
to participants.  Please respond "Yes" to the eCC question about 
requesting Embassy access.  DOD members should submit their eCC 
requests via APACS. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) LODGING:  The Embassy has secured hotel rooms at the Divani 
Caravel hotel in Athens (tel: 30-210-720-7000) at a special room 
rate of 120 euros per night.   Travelers are expected to pay the 
hotel using their government issued or personal credit card.  The 
Divani Caravel is located at 2, Vas. Alexandrou Avenue, a 15-minute 
walk from the Embassy.  Embassy and S/CT staff will be present at a 
hospitality desk near the reception to greet RSI participants 
during peak arrival times on February 21 and 22.  The hotel 
provides currency exchange services, and also has an ATM.  The same 
hotel will be used for the February 24-25 EUR Counterterrorism 
Officers workshop, and those visitors who are attending the EUR as 
well as RSI events will be able to stay in the same rooms, although 
they will only need to pay for the portion of their stay prior to 
the evening of February 23.  EUR will pay the hotel directly for 
rooms for its event, starting February 23.  Please e-mail your 
arrival and departure dates no later than February 10 to Alan 
Purcell. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) LODGING - CONTINUED: Each participant must make his/her own 
individual reservations by sending the following information by 
email to hotel Sales Manager Eleni Spanacou at 
Spanacou@Divanicaravel.gr with copies to VogiatzoglouVK@state.gov 
and AcsL@state.gov : 
 
 
 
Note: RSI 
 
Title (Mr., Mrs., Ms.) First and Last name 
 
Email address 
 
Date/Time of Arrivals and Departures along with Flight details 
 
Credit Card number with Expiration date 
 
Specify if card is: AMEX, VISA, MASTERCARD, or EUROCARD 
 
Accompanying person (if applicable) 
 
Choice of accommodation:  Single or Double (Note: Double occupancy 
is 140 euros.  Government-provided funding is based on single 
occupancy, and the additional cost would be the traveler's personal 
responsibility.) 
 
The hotel will confirm the reservation. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) CONFERENCE FEE: In order to defray the cost of the 
conference, lunches, transportation to and from the Embassy, 
administrative and other conference expenses, participants will be 
charged a conference fee.   We ask that all participants include 75 
USD in their travel orders per RSI they will attend.  An Embassy 
cashier will be available to collect the conference fee on the 
mornings of the RSI meetings. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) COMMUNICATIONS DURING RSI:  The Embassy does not maintain a 
permanent area designated as an "SBU ON+ common access" area.  We 
are working to set up a small temporary area near the conference 
room at which Ambassadors and other senior-level participants would 
have access to a phone, a limited number of SBU terminals, and an 
SBU printer.  If available, we recommend you bring FOBs and 
Blackberry. 
 
 
 
Classified access is likely to be very limited.  We recommend that 
urgent classified communications be sent via classified e-mail to 
Lesley Acs (AcsL@state.sgov.gov) for printing and hand delivery to 
the intended recipient.  For those participants who would like to 
use terminals in the Embassy, we ask that a systems point of 
contact in your Mission contact Alan Purcell by February 16 to 
ensure that account configurations are compatible. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) VISAS: IMPORTANT: Greece requires visas in official or 
diplomatic passport regardless of length of stay, and this 
requirement is strictly enforced.  Tourist/tourist passports do not 
require a visa for visits of less than 90 days.  We encourage 
participants to carry both passports when possible as a precaution. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) TRANSPORTATION TO/FROM AIRPORT FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS EXCEPT 
DOD: Taxis are readily available from the airport, and the majority 
of drivers are English-speaking.  The taxi ride to the Divani 
Caravel from Athens International Airport should cost no more than 
25 to 45 euros (may vary with traffic).  The price includes 0.35 
euros per item of luggage, 3 euros for airport fees, and 3.50 euros 
for tolls.  If you arrive between 12:00 midnight and 5:00 a.m., the 
taxi charges are double (50 to 70 euros). Taxis can be ordered at 
your hotel for departure.  Ambassadors/Charges d' Affaires and A/S 
level participants will be met at the airport and their POCs should 
contact Alan Purcell by February 12 to make arrangements. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) TRANSPORTATION TO/FROM AIRPORT AND HOTEL FOR DEPARTMENT OF 
DEFENSE: DAO will provide transport to/from airport and hotel for 
all military personnel.  Please send an e-mail confirming arrival 
information to CW2 Arriola at ArriolaJA@state.gov or SFC Grant at 
GrantHC@state.gov. 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) GROUND TRANSPORTATION IN ATHENS:  The Embassy will provide 
 
transportation to/from the hotel and the Embassy twice a day 
(morning and evening) on February 22 and 23.  We will also provide 
bus transportation when necessary to no-host dinners and other 
events in the evenings.  Bus schedules will be included in your 
registration material, and embassy staff will be in the lobby of 
the hotel with an "RSI" sign to assist you to the bus during 
departure. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (U) SECURITY:  All participants will receive  security related 
material in their  welcome packets and are encouraged to review it. 
Furthermore, the Regional Security Office is located a few steps 
down the hall from the conference and participants are welcome to 
stop in if they have any questions or concerns.  Department of 
State employees should bring their Global ID and/or Smart Card that 
will permit full access to the compound.  Employees of other 
agencies and departments should bring their respective USG 
identification. 
 
 
 
¶12. (U) FUNDING: S/CT will provide funding for the travel expenses 
of participants from posts, to include the chief of mission or 
his/her designate, plus one additional representative.  Travel 
orders should include the USD 75 conference fee per participant 
(USD 150 if the traveler is attending both RSIs) which will cover 
incidental conference costs as at past RSI meetings.  Posts should 
send an unclassified e-mail with itinerary, as well as costs 
estimates including roundtrip airfare, lodging, and meals and 
incidentals as stipulated by current USG per diem rates, and 
identify a point of contact to whom fiscal data should be sent to 
process travel orders to Patrice Pierce, piercepc@state.gov 
 , (202-647-6554) and Leon Coates ( 
CoatesLD@state.gov), as well as Dan Mahanty (MahantyDR@state.gov) 
and Patrick Worman (WormanP@state.gov) as soon as possible, but no 
later than February 8.  S/CT will generate fund cites and will send 
data to posts as soon as information is received. 
 
 
 
¶13. (U) DRESS CODE: Please note that RSI meetings are business 
casual. 
 
 
 
¶14.  (U) POINTS OF CONTACT: 
 
 
 
-- Embassy Athens's control officer for the meetings is Eastern Med 
RSI Coordinator Alan Purcell 
(PurcellAS@state.gov/PurcellAS@state.sgov.gov; phone 
30-210-720-2967/cell 30-695-620-0457). 
 
 
 
--  Points of contact for Iraq and Neighbors are S/CT Daniel 
Mahanty (email: MahantyDR@state.gov; phone 202-647-3738) and RSI 
Coordinator Carol Reynolds (ReynoldsCT@state.gov; phone IVG 
295-7235). 
 
 
 
-- The Eastern Med points of contact are S/CT Patrick Worman 
(WormanP@state.gov; phone 202-647-9390) and Eastern Mediterranean 
Regional CT Officer Alan Purcell (see above). 
 
Please copy Athens officers Alan Purcell, Adair Hamilton, and 
Lesley Acs on all logistics-related email traffic. 
Speckhard