Greece Nudges Bush on Cyprus Feud : Diplomacy: Turkey’s occupation of island is like Iraq’s seizure of Kuwait, prime minister says.

Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis reminded President Bush on Friday that Greece joined the international coalition against Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, although the fight “would exact a heavy toll on our hard-pressed economy,” and tartly linked the contribution to Greece’s bitter rivalry with Turkey over the division of Cyprus.

Standing on a pier in front of two frigates, the Greek Limnos and the American DeWert, tied stern to stern at the NATO fuel supply base on this Aegean island, Mitsotakis told Bush:

“These men of the Greek navy . . . went to the Gulf in the belief that by opposing Iraq’s aggression against Kuwait, they would help raise the consciousness of the world to the continued occupation of northern Cyprus.”

Bush is visiting both Greece and Turkey--the first trip by a U.S. President to either country in 32 years--and is working to cement U.S. ties along the southeastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but Mitsotakis has not been making the task easy.

Underlying the visit was Greek concern that the President is going from Athens to Ankara and Istanbul for meetings with Turkish President Turgut Ozal, with whom he has developed a close relationship.

Turkey has a less than stellar human rights reputation--most recently it was criticized by the human rights organization Helsinki Watch for restricting freedom of expression. Mitsotakis, in polite but pronounced remarks, reminded Bush that the concept of democracy was born 2,500 years ago in Greece.

“While the United States is now the symbol of democracy in the world, Greece, where it was born, remains its soul,” Mitsotakis said. “That creates a special bond between us that is crucial to the future of democracy, for all political systems need to return to the ideals that shaped them if they are to remain vital. Those ideas are Greek.

“Greeks went to the Gulf not only because their country asked them to do it but also because they believed that the invasion of Kuwait was patently unjust,” the prime minister said. He added that the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops “is patently unjust and in defiance of the international rules of conduct that the Gulf War was fought to defend.”

Turkish Cypriots on the divided Mediterranean island are protected by 29,000 Turkish troops--the remnant of an invasion force that arrived 17 years ago today--to head off a pro-Greek coup. Greek Cypriots live in the south, and U.N. troops patrol the dividing line between the two populations.

In an interview Friday with Cable News Network, Mitsotakis said Greece would not oppose Turkish membership in the European Community if the Cyprus problem can be resolved. He suggested that an unspecified territorial solution be found.

Nevertheless, a Bush Administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that although the Greek suggestion was likely to be rejected by Turkey, the fact that Mitsotakis was even willing to make a proposal represented “a crack in the ice.”

In a speech Thursday to the Greek Parliament and in subsequent talks with Mitsotakis, Bush said the United States would offer itself as a catalyst to resolve the dispute over Cyprus.

Bush reviewed the situation Friday with Brent Scowcroft, his national security adviser. He will press Ozal today in Ankara to join an effort led by U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to get talks under way with Greece, Turkey, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots by the end of the year.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that Bush has no concrete proposal for resolving the problem, but that the President thinks the personal relationship he developed with Ozal during the war, and the apparent eagerness of Mitsotakis’ new government to address the logjam, might combine to produce progress.

For his part, Bush moved to reassure Mitsotakis of the U.S. commitment to Greece.

Greece sent two ships, including the Limnos, on patrol in the Red Sea during the war against Iraq.

At the pier, Bush told his host and an audience of several hundred white-uniformed Greek and U.S. sailors that “just as these two ships are moored stern to stern, the key to keeping our nations secure remains the Atlantic Alliance.”

He added, “Our support for Greek security will not waiver.” Bush outlined the steps he announced Thursday to speed up delivery of U.S. F-4 jets to the Greek air force, lease two frigates to the Greek navy and transfer from NATO stocks to Greek control a number of tanks and artillery pieces.

The naval station and nearby air base at Souda Bay played logistic roles in the Gulf War, dispatching surveillance aircraft over the Mediterranean and refueling warships.

Since last Aug. 2, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, “Souda serviced 97 ships, loaded and unloaded 13,000 tons of cargo, handled 31,000 flights, pumped 4 1/2 million pounds of jet fuel,” Bush said. “Operating at 300, 400 and 500% above normal, day after day, Souda Bay was called on to keep the supply lines moving--and day after day, Souda Bay did its duty with distinction.”

After working at breakneck speed during the first half of his nine-day European trip in France and Britain, Bush has followed a more relaxed pace in Greece.

Before flying to Crete for a midday visit, he toured the Acropolis in Athens.

“I’m getting to do what a lot of Americans would like to do--just get a taste of this history,” Bush said. “I’ll tell you, it’s fantastic. Marvelous. Democracy is the American dream, and it started right here, so we see these marvelous symbols in Greece’s past. All of this is so impressive.”

Cyprus at a Glance

Area: 3,572 square miles.

Population: 656,000 (1985), with Greeks outnumbering Turks 4 to 1.

Major religions: Eastern Orthodox, Sunni Muslim.

Political status: Became an independent republic in 1960 under ethnic Greek majority regime until coup led by Greek army officers and subsequent Turkish intervention in 1974. Independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared in 1983. U.N. efforts to mediate a reunification of the island have proved fruitless to date.