Cyprus Seeks U.S. Pledge of Protection : Diplomacy: Island nation’s president says Washington’s guarantee would enhance chances of reunification.

WASHINGTON — President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus appealed to President Clinton on Friday to pledge U.S. action, including the possible use of military force, to guarantee the independence of the strategically located Mediterranean island if its Greek and Turkish communities agree on reunification after almost 19 years of division.

With Clinton already agonizing over his inability to stop the dismemberment of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Administration gave a wary reception to the proposal. A White House official said that it was too early to talk about how to guarantee a settlement that has not even been reached.

But Clerides, talking to reporters before his late afternoon appointment at the White House, said a U.S. indication that it was ready to serve as guarantor would improve the chances for the Cypriot communities to reach an agreement during U.N.-mediated talks resuming Monday in New York.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali named former Canadian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Joe Clark as his representative to the talks.

When Cyprus obtained its independence from Britain in 1960, Britain, Greece and Turkey agreed jointly to guarantee its territorial integrity because it was too small to maintain an adequate military. The island is located off the Turkish coast, but 78% of the population is ethnic Greek and 18% is ethnic Turk, with 4% from other groups.

In 1974, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus and occupied the northern third of its territory. Turkey said it acted to protect ethnic Turks from a right-wing Greek military regime that had just seized control of the Cypriot government. The guarantee system broke down because one of the three guarantors staged the invasion, while the other two did nothing to stop it.

After the invasion, Greek Cypriots who had been living in the north and Turkish Cypriots who had been living in the south were moved to areas of the island held by their ethnic groups. The Turkish third of the island declared its independence in 1983, but Turkey is the only country that recognizes that sovereignty. Other nations continue to recognize the government of Cyprus as the only legitimate government of the island--even though it controls only the southern two-thirds and is elected only by the Greek community.

Clerides, elected last February, said he is seeking a federation in which the Turkish community would have autonomy in the north and the Greek community would have autonomy in the south. The federal government would handle foreign policy and other functions.

In addition to appealing for the United States to accept the role of guarantor, Clerides called on Clinton to apply pressure on Turkey to, in turn, press the Turkish Cypriots into accepting a settlement.

He conceded that previous U.S. administrations have been reluctant to jeopardize Washington’s relationship with Turkey by putting too much stress on Cyprus. He agreed that Turkey has been an important ally of the United States, during both the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War.

But Clerides said he hopes Clinton will send U.S. policy in another direction. He distributed copies of a campaign statement Clinton issued last October that said, “The United States has a moral obligation as well as a national security interest to see that this illegal occupation of Cyprus comes to an end.”