Cuba says EU's call for dialogue is the right step but not enough
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| Published on Thursday, June 21, 2007 |
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HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Cuba said on Wednesday the European Union call for dialogue was a step in the right direction, but also demanded the EU give up once and for all the idea of reimposing sanctions against the communist-run island.
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Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
AFP PHOTO |
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said an EU document adopted on Monday marked "a necessary, but insufficient correction" of policies toward Cuba.
The EU introduced economic sanctions against Cuba in 2003, but suspended them two years later. At Monday's meeting in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers agreed to maintain the sanctions suspension.
The policy is to come up again for review in six month's time, but Cuba insisted the Europeans scrap it altogether.
"We don't consider the EU has any moral authority to judge Cuba," said Perez Roque. "We believe the sanctions must be definitely eliminated," he said at a news conference.
He also stressed there could be no normalization of relations as long as the EU maintains its 1996 "Joint Position" policy that ties aid to political reforms and human rights improvements in Cuba.
"We consider it has no justification, we believe it demonstrates a lack of independence of the EU in formulating a policy toward Cuba, as this position essentially reflects the US posture," Perez Roque said.
But he also said the EU had "corrected its previous position of closing itself to dialogue and adopting a position of pressure and force toward Cuba."
"They have learned one cannot impose anything upon Cuba," he said. | | | | Reads : 160 | | | |
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