Maravi

Sanctions on sovereign states don't work - Jimenez

Sanctions on sovereign states don't work - Jimenez
By Larry Moonze in La Habana, Cuba
Sunday April 08, 2007 [04:00]

SPAIN'S secretary of state for Ibero-America Trinidad Jimenez has said no country should be isolated even if its political system was disapproved by Spain. In her statement following the Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos' visit to Cuba which is also facing sanctions from the European Union, Jimenez who was part of Moratinos delegation, said sanctions on sovereign states did not work.

Jimenez described Moratinos' visit to Cuba as satisfactory because "fluid communications with the island had been restored". She told Spain's Radio Chain Cadena Ser that, "no country should be isolated even if at times we may not approve of their political system". "Implementing pressures against a sovereign country whose policies may not please us does not work," said Jimenez. "And that has been the case with Cuba."

Spain is Cuba's third largest trading partner after Venezuela and China. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2006, bilateral trade rose by 23 per cent, approximately US $1.2 billion.

And Moratinos' said the just ended trip to Havana was the first visit by a Spanish foreign minister since 1998, and the first visit of a European foreign minister since the EU imposed sanctions on the island in 2003.

In his statement, quoted by Radio Havana Cuba, Moratinos said his visit meant improved communications with Cuban authorities. He said good communication was indispensable for bilateral relations and that for centuries, history and culture had brought Cuba and Spain together.

He said Spain would seek to help Cuba so that European countries improved their relations with the island. Moratinos said for Spain, it was an obligation to entertain relations with Cuba whereas for other countries it was just an option.

He noted that there were countries that did not belong to the EU that could have had relations with Cuba but had chosen not to. Moratinos, who met with acting Cuban President and Army General Raul Castro, described him as a cordial, affable and confident political figure.

He said Raul, who is also First Vice-President of Cuba, had expressed willingness to move forward with Cuban-Spanish relations. Moratinos said during his two-hour meeting with Raul, the two leaders discussed important international and domestic issues.

He hoped the next step would be to establish a solid dialogue with Cuban authorities since Spain had always favoured fluid communication with Latin American countries and that Cuba must not be and could not be an exception.

Moratinos said though such dialogue might not be free from criticism, it did not prevent an improvement in relations. Moratinos during his visit met several Cuban officials with whom he agreed renewal of economic cooperation.

Labels: CUBA, SANCTIONS

posted by MrK @ 5:41 AM