U.S. Considers "Fundamental Changes" a Prerequisite to Talk to Cuba
- Submitted by: admin
- Politics and Government
- 07 / 09 / 2009
The Obama administration sees “fundamental changes within the Cuban regime” as a prerequisite for progress in the dialogue Washington has initiated with Havana, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Venezuelan television.
“We have made it very clear that we could not do much more in dealing with Cuba unless Cuba changes. The political prisoners need to be released. Free and fair elections need to be held,” she said in an interview aired Tuesday night on the Globovision network.
The secretary pointed out that the United States has resumed immigration talks with Cuba, discussions which first began in 1994 but were suspended under the Bush administration.
President Barack Obama has also kept a campaign promise by largely eliminating restrictions on Cuban-Americans’ travel and remittances to the communist-ruled island.
At the same time, the president rules out lifting Washington’s 47-year-old economic embargo until Cuba embarks on a process of democratization.
Source: Herald Tribune
“We have made it very clear that we could not do much more in dealing with Cuba unless Cuba changes. The political prisoners need to be released. Free and fair elections need to be held,” she said in an interview aired Tuesday night on the Globovision network.
The secretary pointed out that the United States has resumed immigration talks with Cuba, discussions which first began in 1994 but were suspended under the Bush administration.
President Barack Obama has also kept a campaign promise by largely eliminating restrictions on Cuban-Americans’ travel and remittances to the communist-ruled island.
At the same time, the president rules out lifting Washington’s 47-year-old economic embargo until Cuba embarks on a process of democratization.
Source: Herald Tribune
Comments