GREECE: CUBA COUNTRY REVIEW FOR TITLE III

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001075 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CCA, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2017 TAGS: ETRD ETTC GR PREL SUBJECT: GREECE: CUBA COUNTRY REVIEW FOR TITLE III SUSPENSION OF LIBERTAD ACT REF: A. SECSTATE 65523 ¶B. 06 ATHENS 1099 Classified By: DCM Thomas Countryman. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Post provides the following responses keyed to questions posed in ref a: ¶1. (C) According to Expert Minister Counselor Vassilios Konstantineas at the MFA Department for Latin America and the Caribbean, the GoG did not keep a list of Greek investors in Cuba or of Cuban investors in Greece. ¶2. (C) Konstantineas confirmed to Embassy on May 18 that Greece and Cuba had signed two bilateral economic agreements. The first was the Investment Protection Agreement, signed on June 18, 1996, and ratified by law 2461/97. The second was the Agreement on Economic and Technological Cooperation, signed in Havana on May 5, 1997, and ratified by law 2585/98. ¶3. (C) On May 22, Consulate Thessaloniki PolOff spoke with Vice Rector Athanasia Tsatsakou of Aristotle University in Thessaloniki regarding a proposed cooperative program between Aristotle and Cuban universities, as reported in ref b. Tsatsakou said that since initial discussions last year, SIPDIS there had been no further movement on the proposal. Tsatsakou was also unaware of any individual faculty members SIPDIS who had cooperated with Cuban universities outside the proposed official program. ¶4. (C) In Post's opinion, Greece will continue to follow the EU common position to support the development of democracy and human rights in Cuba. Greece's bilateral relationship with Cuba remains very limited and driven by the EU agenda. ¶5. (C) Post is not aware of any high-level visits between Cuba and Greece in the last six months. RIES