December 18, 2024
Carlos de Cossio
Cuba is willing to sit down with the United States in search of a serious relationship, based on respect for sovereignty, self-determination and non-interference in internal affairs, official sources said today.
Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, pointed out to the press that such a disposition of the island has been in force since before the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 2014.
Earlier, the deputy foreign minister said that, facing the new presidential term ahead, the conduct of the Caribbean nation will remain consistent, while speaking at the XXI edition of the series of conversations Cuba in the foreign policy of the United States of America.
He stressed that it will not be the Antillean island that will take the initiative to suspend the dialogues, cooperation and discreet exchanges that exist on some sensitive issues.
During the last decade, bilateral relations have been characterized, according to Fernandez de Cossio, by four realities: Cuba fulfilled all its commitments, seeking progress, while the United States failed to fulfill practically all of its own.
Secondly, he pointed out that this brief period was beneficial for both nations and obtained the support, as well as the congratulations of the majority of the population and neighboring governments.
However, the Vice Chancellor pointed out that, in the last eight years and throughout most of the history of diplomatic relations, aggression has defined bilateral ties, and he made clear the existence of an aggressor country and an assaulted country in the difficult relationship between Cuba and the United States.
He recalled that despite the continuation of the policy of maximum economic pressure, there are certain political differences in the behavior of the current government of the U.S. nation, that of Joe Biden, with respect to the previous one, of Donald Trump.
He pointed out that, although there were some changes in different areas, the presence of the island on the State Department’s list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism was maintained.
Paradoxically, he added, “the United States has practiced terrorism, including state terrorism, against Cuba, as well as other parts of the world”.
Fernandez de Cossio said that these are realities that cannot be ignored when “we try to approach the difficult coexistence between Cuba and the United States”.
He indicated that there are areas that demonstrated the usefulness of a civilized and respectful relationship, and that the Antillean country, in spite of the hostility manifested, has been willing to channel and develop.
In another moment of his speech, the Vice Minister referred to the issue of Cuban medical cooperation and how the North American nation tries to classify this activity as “human trafficking” when in no way it is.
He stressed that despite the objective of the U.S. government to mercilessly harm the Caribbean nation, “what it will not be able to do is to achieve the goal of bending the will of Cubans, since it does not have the capacity to convince Cuba that the abandonment and renunciation of self-determination are viable options”.
Source: Cuba en Resumen