November 10, 1999
Web posted at: 5:26 a.m. EST (1026 GMT)

From White House Correspondent Chris Black

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House officials are shortening President Clinton's upcoming state visit to Greece because of security concerns.

Administration officials said Tuesday the president will still visit Greece but not for the 2 1/2 days originally planned -- Saturday, Sunday and part of next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart acknowledged that security is an issue but declined to discuss any specific problems. He said the trip will not be canceled and Clinton will still visit Greece on his 10-day European tour that begins Friday.

Other senior White House officials said that the security challenge was one that they felt could be dealt with through a revision in the schedule.

Clinton brushed off concerns about security at the beginning of a cabinet meeting Tuesday.

"I know that Greece has a long and rich history of communist anarchists and other on the left demonstrating and they all disagreed with my decision on Kosovo," he said.

But he said Greece was an ally and he wanted to help resolve tensions between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus.

"I expect demonstrations and I'm not troubled by them. I think the security issues will be fine,'' he said.

Earlier, White House officials said the U.S. government was having conversations with Greek officials about demonstrations that turned violent this week.

On Sunday two leftist groups shot six rounds at the building housing the Greek-American Union cultural center and planted a bomb that damaged a Levi Strauss store. No one was injured in those incidents.

Clinton was scheduled to stay with Ambassador Nick Burns at his residence just behind the U.S. Embassy. Though the complex has the highest security of any diplomatic post in the world, U.S. officials are concerned that demonstrators may be allowed to gather in the street outside the walled complex.

Clinton is unpopular in Greece because of U.S. support for the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The Greek people felt great sympathy with fellow Orthodox Christians, the Serbs, during the NATO bombing campaign against Kosovo.

White House officials said the president's revised travel schedule will be released on Wednesday before National Security Adviser Samuel Berger gives a pre-trip briefing to the press.