Greece may charge rent for 4 US military bases

In talks that opened Wednesday, Greece may ask the United States to pay rent on four US military bases in this country, political sources said.

The sources said Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's government, edging away from its election pledge to close them, would seek rent of several hundred million dollars from Washington for the bases to try to ease pressure on its negative balance of payments. The negotiations on the bases are expected to last from six to nine months.