HAVANA (Reuters) - The European Union’s decision on Thursday to lift sanctions against Cuba appears to be “a step in the right direction” but still must be fully evaluated, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said.
The EU’s foreign ministers agreed to lift the diplomatic sanctions that, despite having been suspended since 2005, impeded the normalization of relations between the communist island and the European bloc.
“If it has happened (as described in the news), I think that, yes, it’s a step in the right direction,” Perez Roque told Reuters on Thursday night during a reception for visiting Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez.
“We’ve seen the news, but we’ll take our time in evaluating the issue, knowing the official decisions and, in the appropriate moment, we will react in an official way,” he said.
The document agreed upon in Brussels after torturous negotiations, will be released on Monday, after which Perez Roque said Cuba will determine its position.
With the elimination of the sanctions, imposed in 2003 in response to the arrest of 75 dissidents, the EU wants to encourage reforms started by new Cuban President Raul Castro since he formally replaced his brother Fidel Castro in February.
The EU made clear, however, that it expects improvements in human rights and wants to see more political prisoners freed. It said it will review its decision in a year.
Perez Roque said Cuba would not accept any pressure from the EU.
“Our position has been very firm the whole time, that a rectification by the European Union was necessary, that without that it was impossible to negotiate with them, because Cuba doesn’t accept negotiating under pressure or under impositions,” he said.
OPPOSITION BY SOME COUNTRIES
The agreement to eliminate the sanctions, which had to be approved unanimously by the EU’s 27 members, hung by a thread until the last minute because of opposition by countries such as Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
European diplomats said the United States, a staunch and long-time foe of Cuba’s communist government, also applied pressure trying to stop it.
Spain and other countries that supported the lifting of sanctions have said they hope for results on at least two fronts -- the opening of a channel for political dialogue and the renewal of European aid for Cuban development projects, rejected by Fidel Castro in 2003.
“It’s a theme that will have to be discussed, because the cooperation at the time was politicized, to be given with conditions, and Cuba, logically, rejected it,” said Perez Roque.
“If things change, it’s a theme that can be evaluated in the future.”
Spain renewed bilateral cooperation last year.
Although the sanctions had strained the atmosphere between the EU and Cuba, in contrast to the U.S. embargo imposed since 1962 they did not prevent trade or European investment.
Their major consequence was to freeze visits by high-level European officials and to irritate the Cuban government when EU embassies began inviting dissidents to their cocktail parties.
The EU’s decision was labelled a mistake by Laura Pollan, whose husband Hector Maseda was one of 75 dissidents sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003. She is one of the “Women in White” who hold a weekly protest urging the government to free their jailed family members.
“I have talked about this with various diplomats and have told them I think it’s a mistake by the European Union because definitely nothing has changed since 2003.”
Additional reporting by Rosa Tania Valdez; Writing by Jeff Franks, Editing by Michael Christie and Philip Barbara
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