• Submitted by: admin
• Environment
• international
• 05 / 31 / 2010

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A former U.S. diplomat who just returned from a visit to Havana reports that the Cuban government is showing "increasing concern" about the possible impact of the BP oil spill on the island.

 Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera told the visiting American about his government's preoccupation and indicated that Cuba is "perfectly willing to work with the U.S. on this issue."

Osmani Borrego Fernandez, a director at the Guanahacabibes National Park at Cuba's western tip, told Reuters this week that "Cuba, like all the countries in this area, is worried about the situation in the Gulf."

While there has been no evidence of oil in Cuban waters, "we are alert," he told the news agency.

No formal bilateral talks have been held on the issue, although there have been some working-level discussions, said a source at the Washington-based Ocean Foundation.

The source said that officials at the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment are "appreciative of the information we are providing them" but have not requested any help or revealed their preparations.

A daily report on the flow of the oil stain and how it threatens the coasts of the United States and Cuba can be accessed at www.cubaconservation.org

By Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Source. The Miami Herald