In his profile on the social network X, the Cuban foreign minister pointed out that the 22nd Edition of the “Cuba in the Foreign Policy of the United States: Conversations Series”, which concludes Thursday in Havana, has demonstrated how much those ties could have advanced in the last eight years.
Cuba’s willingness to seek a serious relationship, based on respect for sovereignty, self-determination and non-interference in internal affairs, was reiterated on December 17 by Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.
Speaking on the opening day of the meeting, De Cossío said that the island’s willingness has been in force since before the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 2014.
Faced with the new presidential term in the United States, Cuba will continue to be consistent, and will not ever be the one calling off dialogue, cooperation and the discreet exchanges that currently are being conducted on some sensitive issues, he said.
In the diplomat’s words, in the last decade, bilateral ties were characterized by four realities: Cuba fulfilled all its commitments, seeking progress, while the United States failed to fulfill practically all of its own. Secondly, this brief period was beneficial for both nations and gained support and recognition from the majority of the population and neighboring governments.
However, the De Cossío pointed out that, in the last eight years and throughout much of the history of diplomatic relations, aggression has defined bilateral ties, and made clear the existence of an aggressor and and a country under attack.
He pointed out that despite the continuity of the policy of maximum economic pressure (on Cuba), there are certain political differences in the behavior of the US current government, under of Joe Biden, compared to the previous administration of Donald Trump.
Although there were some changes in different areas, Cuba was still kept in the State Department’s list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism, he recalled.
Paradoxically, he added, “the United States has practiced terrorism, including state terrorism, against Cuba, as well as other parts of the world.”
Fernández de Cossío meant that these are realities that cannot be ignored when “we try to approach the difficult coexistence between Cuba and the United States.” He stressed that despite the US government’s objective of mercilessly harming the island, “what it will not be able to do is achieve the goal of bending the will of the Cubans, because it does not have the capacity to convince Cuba that abandoning and renouncing self-determination are viable options.”
The twenty-second edition of this meeting, sponsored by the Center for International Policy Research, with the co-sponsorship of the Higher Institute of International Relations, focused on the last 10 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba.
ied/ lam/evm
