GREECE AND THE LIBERTAD ACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001653 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2018 TAGS: ETRD PREL ETTC PGOV GR CU SUBJECT: GREECE AND THE LIBERTAD ACT REF: SECSTATE 126578 Classified By: A/POLCOUNS JEFFREY HOVENIER. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Per reftel request, Embassy Athens offers the following information on the general state of Greece-Cuba relations as they pertain to the Libertad Act. ¶2. (C) We assess that Greece will continue to follow the EU common position to support the development of democracy and human rights in Cuba. Like other EU countries, Greece maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba, and Greece and Cuba exchanged ambassadors and had reciprocal embassies. ¶3. (C) Greece has made no public statements nor undertaken any governmental actions condemning human rights abuses in Cuba, beyond any actions taken by the EU. ¶4. (C) We are unaware of any high-level visits between Cuba and Greece in the past six months. The Greek Communist Party (KKE) maintained close ties to the Cuban regime. In May 2008, KKE Secretary General Papariga visited Havana to meet Raul Castro and other top members of the Castro regime. ¶5. (C) According to Hellenic Aid, the government,s development agency, the GoG did not offer or provide any humanitarian or other assistance to the Cuban people in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. ¶6. (C) According to the MFA B5 Directorate for Economic Relations with Countries from South America, there were no Greek investments in Cuba, and the total value of bilateral trade was very low. To the best of their knowledge, no Greek businesses participated in the Havana Trade Fair on November ¶3. ¶7. (C) According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the bilateral legal framework between Greece and Cuba consisted of the following agreements: (a) Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments (1997); and (b) Agreement on Economic and Technological Cooperation (1998). In addition, Post,s records indicated that the two countries signed an Air Agreement in 1998. ¶8. (C) We are unaware of any academic or medical exchange programs between Greece and Cuba. SPECKHARD