BULGARIA: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER'S IMPRESSIONS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000817

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM CU BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER'S IMPRESSIONS OF
CUBA

Classified By: DCM JEFF LEVINE; E.O. 12958: REASONS
1.4 (B) and (D)

1.(C) Summary: Deputy Foreign Minister Gergana Grancharova
shared with DCM impressions from her recent trip to Cuba
where she held talks with Cuban counterparts, discussed
Cuba,s $300 million debt to Bulgaria, signed a cultural
exchange agreement and met with members of the Bulgarian
community living there. While Mrs. Grancharova said she
repeatedly raised human rights issues with government
officials, she did not meet with dissidents under threat of
cancellation of her official program. Cuban officials,
according to Mrs. Grancharova, were candid in their analysis
of Cuba,s situation and its relationship with various EU
countries. Following her return, Mrs. Grancharova requested
resources to provide internet access at its Embassy to Cuban
citizens. End summary.

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Human Rights and Foreign Affairs
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2.(C) During her May 29-30 visit, accompanied by four
members of the America,s Directorate which she heads, Mrs.
Grancharova met with Deputy Foreign Minister Cavallaro,
Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Ernesto Suarez,
and Deputy Minister for Investment Ricardo Guerrero. The
meetings included lengthy discussions on human rights where
she found the Cubans more open than expected, but suffering
from siege mentality. According to Mrs. Grancharova, the
Cubans are convinced that the Cuban-American community will
prevent the U.S. from ever adopting a balanced approach in
dealing with Cuba. The officials claimed to be ready to talk
with any U.S. Administration that &will respect them.8
They are also ready for greater engagement with the European
Union as long as the EU,s position &is not Washington,s
position.8

3.(C) Within the EU, Mrs. Grancharova said, Cuba looks first
to Spain for support, but also welcomed the &pragmatic8
approaches of the United Kingdom and Canada. The Cubans
noted that Canada is vocal in its human rights concerns,
without allowing them to poison the relationship. They also
identified Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and Greece as
countries perceived to be more even-handed in their approach.
Outside the EU, Cuba enjoys support from Venezuela,
Bolivia, China and Russia. Mrs. Grancharova stressed to the
GOC that as soon as the regime allowed Cubans to freely
choose their government, the international community would no
longer feel the need for involvement in Cuba,s internal
affairs.

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The Transition
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4.(C) Based on the visit, her first to Cuba, Mrs.
Grancharova does not believe Eastern Europe's transition to
democracy will be an especially viable model. A major
difference, she explained, is Cuba,s colonial past and then
the Batista regime. Neither, she believes, provided Cuba
with the exposure to functioning self-government that the
Eastern European states had experienced. Next was the pride
she encountered among her Cuban counterparts in some of the
regime,s accomplishments ) specifically its health care and
educational systems. When the wall fell, there was no
similar sense in Eastern Europe that parts of their system
were working well. With that said, Mrs. Grancharova found
general acknowledgement among her contacts that change is
coming ) but not until Castro is gone.

5.(C) Mrs. Grancharova said Cubans are preparing themselves
for "the day after," and she feared a peaceful transition can
not be assumed. With no obvious heir apparent, any change
will be surrounded by uncertainty and, likely, instability.
She identified property issues as the transition area most
likely to result in violence. On a more positive note, she
saw signs that Cuba,s tourism industry is already gearing up
for the coming changes and expects one day to be hosting far
more visitors, including Americans.

6.(C) While unable to meet with dissidents, Mrs. Grancharova
did feel like she met numerous "ordinary Cubans," who
maintain a very favorable view of Bulgaria from times past.
She believes this connection can make a positive contribution
when dealing with Cuba. She also met with about 80
Bulgarians living in Cuba, primarily spouses of Cuban
citizens who have been there for years. The Bulgarian
community there is not doing well, she acknowledged, although
most of its complaints centered on economic, rather than
political hardships. The high cost of exit visas for those
wishing to visit Bulgaria was a specific complaint. Meetings
with dissidents were scratched from her schedule when the
Cubans ) who were obviously monitoring all facets of her
program ) told her the official meetings would be cancelled
if the dissident meetings proceeded.

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Official Schedule
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7.(C) The official schedule included:

-- Signing of a Protocol on Cultural, Scientific and
Educational exchange for 2006-2008 that includes student
exchanges (two a year each direction) and cultural
exhibitions (one a year each direction).

-- Preliminary work on an exchange of students between their
respective diplomatic institutes.

-- An agreement to form an expert group from their
ministries of finance to discuss Cuba,s $300 million debt to
Bulgaria (note: a deputy finance minister later told us that
Cuba recognized the debt several years ago ) but he expects
little progress in actually getting them to pay).

8.(C) During her visit, Mrs. Grancharova also met with
several EU Ambassadors and agreed to request funds from her
Ministry to provide internet access at their Embassy for
Cubans.

9.(C) Comment: While stressing she is far from an expert on
Cuban issues, Mrs. Grancharova found the visit fascinating
and is committed to playing a constructive role in Cuba,s
development. She believes both the EU and U.S. should be
focusing on a short list of demands from the current regime
while preparing to assist with the coming transition whenever
it occurs. End Comment
Beyrle