ATHENS -- Aides to U.S. President Bill Clinton said he was trying not to take personally the violent protests that marked his visit to Greece Friday.
"Greece is the world's oldest democracy," Clinton said in Turkey before arriving in Athens. "If people want to protest, they ought to have a chance to do it."The Greek capital erupted in violence after police fired dozens of rounds of tear gas to break up a mass demonstration against Clinton's visit.
Banks and shops throughout the main commercial area were smashed and fires set across central Athens as Air Force One touched down.
Many Greeks blame Washington for backing a 1967-1974 military junta in Greece and for not stopping Turkey from invading and dividing Cyprus in 1974.
"The president is certainly not taking this personally," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The issues underlying these demonstrations go back 25 years and are founded on issues with a long historical precedent between these two countries."
More recently, Clinton has been widely condemned in Greece for leading the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia, a longtime Greek ally, from March through June.
Clinton is usually welcomed warmly on his trips abroad. His route through cities is often lined with happy greeters and he relishes the chance to stop his motorcade and shake hands with the crowds.
This time the motorcade route was eerily quiet as Clinton and a heavy security entourage passed from the Athens airport to his hotel.
"We certainly expected demonstrations and protests but he still felt it was important to come here and celebrate U.S.-Greek relations," said David Leavy, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
"There are important issues to advance like Cyprus, the Aegean and trade and investment that are important to both the American and Greek people and he's confident that we can have a productive and positive visit," Leavy said.
Clinton is not the first U.S. president to draw protests in Greece. George Bush triggered demonstrations when he visited in July 1991.
Some aides grumbled that Clinton's trip should have been postponed instead of simply being put off for a few days and then shortened to about 24 hours.
But it would have been a bad diplomatic signal for a U.S. president to visit Turkey without also stopping in Greece.
Clinton said in Turkey he hoped his visit to both nations would help prod along a slow reconciliation between Athens and Ankara.