ANKARA, Turkey -- President Clinton, seeking reconciliation between rivals Greece and Turkey, announced Sunday the resumption of long-stalled talks aimed at reunifying war-divided Cyprus and said there was cause for "new hope."
But the diplomatic initiative ran into trouble as soon as it was announced. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash backtracked and said he would not take part unless the format was changed. The United States said it expected him to keep his commitment.Opening a 10-day trip, the president arrived minutes before midnight in a nation stunned by an earthquake Friday that killed more than 370 people -- on the heels of an August quake that left more than 17,000 dead.
"This second earthquake was much more severe than we had originally thought," Clinton told reporters on Air Force One. "It will be very much on the minds of the Turkish leaders and the Turkish people, and we'll try to be sensitive to that."
Clinton said he was not worried about his own safety. "I think it's very important that I make this trip." The president will join with more than 50 world leaders at a summit Thursday in Istanbul.
After an intense diplomatic press by the United States, the agreement for Cyprus talks came together unexpectedly quickly -- and began to unravel just as swiftly.
"The Cyprus problem has been with us for far too long," Clinton said. "It will not be resolved overnight."
He said he hoped the talks could build on the thaw in relations between Greece and Turkey after both nations suffered killer quakes a few weeks apart and rushed to one another's aid. U.S. officials call it "seismic diplomacy."
"It's a new atmosphere, but it needs to be acted on," the president told reporters. He said another factor was potential membership in the European Union for Cyprus and Turkey.
Heading into the final year of his presidency, a legacy-minded Clinton has made peacemaking a priority -- in Cyprus, Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Clinton, in a speech last week, said that reconciliation between Greece and Turkey was one of the major pieces of unfinished business in Europe.
Aboard his plane, Clinton was notified by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that President Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, had agreed to talks beginning Dec. 3 under the auspices of the United Nations.
The two leaders would not meet face-to-face but would be in separate rooms and present their positions to U.N. envoys and Clinton's special emissary for Cyprus, Alfred Moses.
But within hours, Denktash's adviser, Ergun Olgun, said Denktash was pulling out. He said Denktash was angered by Annan's reference to Clerides as "president" while referring to Denktash as "Mr. Denktash." He accused Annan of breaking a previously reached agreement in which Denktash and Clerides would be referred to on equal terms.
Denktash also apparently was angered that Clinton and Annan were implying that the talks were aimed at reunification and were not preparatory talks, as he had wanted. "They have to keep to the agreement they made with us," Denktash told the Anatolia news agency.
Sandy Berger, the president's national security adviser, called the agreement an important, encouraging step but added, "I don't want to minimize the difficulties here. This is the first step in a long road."
Cyprus has been divided between Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots ever since Turkey invaded the Mediterranean island in 1974 after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.