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Spain,
US agree to work more closely on Cuba
MADRID, 1 jun (AFP) - Spain and the United
States will work more closely together to
encourage democracy in Cuba, despite conflicting
approaches to the communist state, US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday.
"We agreed that we are going to intensify
our efforts through our political directors
and others to better align our tactics so
that our countries can help to promote democracy
in Cuba," she told reporters after
talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel
Angel Moratinos in Madrid.
"Spain has a different view about
how to get to a democratic Cuba but we spent
our time on how to communicate clearly that
there must be a democratic transition in
Cuba," she added.
The United States and Spain have profoundly
different opinions about how to encourage
democratic advances in the Caribbean island,
and these have contributed to a cooling
of relations between the two nations in
recent years.
Washington has a policy of isolating Cuba
and ailing President
Fidel Castro. It has enforced trade sanctions
and a travel ban against Havana for 45 years.
Madrid is pursuing a policy of constructive
engagement with Cuba, which was one of its
colonies until Spain's defeat in a war with
the United States in 1898.
Spain and Havana agreed to hold political
consultations, including on the issue of
human rights, during a visit to Cuba last
month by Moratinos.
It was the first such visit by a
European Union foreign minister since the
bloc imposed sanctions on the island in
2003.
Washington has condemned the visit, and
especially the fact that Moratinos avoided
meeting with Cuban dissidents during his
stay.
Moratinos said high ranking Spanish government
officials have met with Cuban dissidents
in recent months and predicted Rice "would
eventually be convinced that the Spanish
approach has positive results."
"Don't count on it," Rice responded,
adding: "I have real doubts about the
value of engaging with a regime that is
anti-democratic."
"People who are struggling for a democratic
future need to know that they are supported
by those of us who are lucky enough to be
free," she said.
Rice said the United States had an obligation
to speak out in favour of democracy and
stressed it had "outstanding relations"
with governments of both the left and the
right in Latin America.
"We are not a country that believes
that it is up to us to choose what democratically
elected leaders a country will have,"
she said.
"We have very good relations with
the governments of Uruaguay, Brazil, Chile
that come from the political left as well
as countries that come from the centre-right
like Colombia or Peru," she added.
The EU is split on policy towards Cuba.
Italy and Germany join Spain at the forefront
of countries seeking dialogue, while Poland
and the Czech Republic, former communist
states close to Washington, favor pressuring
Havana for democratic change.
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