By Charles Babington
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, November 10, 1999; Page A34

ATHENS—President Clinton is strongly considering delaying a planned trip to Greece that was to have begun this weekend because of violent anti-American protests in Athens, including gunshots at the building housing the Greek-American Union cultural center, White House officials said last night.

The president may begin his European tour on Monday in Turkey, which was to have been the second stop of a 12-day trip, and pay a quick visit to Greece later in the week, on short notice. Such a plan, officials said, would make it more difficult for protesters and potential terrorists to plan disruptions.

"They're moving things around" on the European schedule, a White House official said last night. He said security personnel are concerned about the scale of the protests, which included about 2,000 people conducting a mock trial of Clinton on Monday.

In addition to Turkey, Clinton is scheduled to visit Bulgaria.