USAID LAC A/A BONICELLI DISCUSSES CUBAN TRANSITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000134

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR USAID LAC A/A PAUL BONICELLI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2018
TAGS: PREL EAD PGOV CU SI
SUBJECT: USAID LAC A/A BONICELLI DISCUSSES CUBAN TRANSITION
WITH SLOVENE OFFICIALS


Classified By: CDA Grace Shelton for reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On March 13 - 14, USAID Assistant
Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean Paul
Bonicelli met with Slovene officials to discuss U.S. - EU
cooperation on development assistance to Cuba if and when a
true transition on the island occurs. All Slovene officials
agreed that despite differences in approach, the EU and the
U.S. have the same goals for a Cuban transition and stressed
that we must cooperate and coordinate both policy and
development assistance for the island. COLAT Chair Stefan
Bogdan Salej urged greater cooperation on Cuba while
simultaneously requesting that the U.S. exert less pressure
on the EU regarding its approach to Cuban transition issues.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) COLAT Chair and Special Envoy for Latin America Salej
stressed that although the EU has the utmost respect for the
U.S. position on Cuba and the transatlantic relationship, the
EU will make its decisions independently. He asked that the
U.S. not push too hard on Cuba as this could alienate some
member states and result in a loss of maneuvering space
within the Union. Salej cited the EU's independent decision
to push for the exclusion of any mention of the Helms-Burton
Act in the upcoming EU - Latin America and the Caribbean
Summit's Lima Declaration as evidence that the EU can make
the right decisions without overt U.S. pressure. Salej
recognized, however, the urgent need to find concrete ways to
cooperate on Cuba and stated that he looks forward to more
dialogue in the near future.


3. (C) Salej stated that although Cuba is the most important
aspect of the Slovenian EU Presidency's Latin American
agenda, Slovenia's attitude towards Cuba differs greatly from
that of other Central European countries such as the Czech
Republic and Hungary. He acknowledged that Slovenian public
opinion is not committed to taking responsibility for the
fight for democracy in Cuba and therefore Slovenia has not
been very engaged on the issue. Salej noted, however, that
Slovenes who visit Cuba are shocked by the situation there
and return to Slovenia with a great sense of relief that
Slovenia has left its socialist past behind. He commented
that he would like to work with the U.S. to raise awareness
of Cuban issues in both Slovenia and the EU.


4. (C) MFA Division for the Americas Director Roman Kirn
echoed Salej's calls for greater cooperation and expressed
hope that joint EU - U.S. efforts would broaden in scope
beyond human rights and also encompass development assistance
and economic reform. Kirn stressed, however, that the EU's
top priority is the release of all political prisoners in
Cuba. When asked by Bonicelli if he thought that the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
would be an appropriate forum for discussions on multilateral
cooperation and coordination for post-transition development
assistance to Cuba, Kirn said that he thought it would be
worth a try as we must be ready to assist Cuba at the
institutional level. He did note, however, that some people
will question the purpose of such a meeting.


5. (U) MFA Division for International Development and
Humanitarian Assistance Deputy Director Dubravka Sekoranja
noted that Slovenia's development priorities have focused on
the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe and that, to date,
Slovenia has not run any development programs in Cuba. She
added that Slovenia is intereste in expanding beyond its
current focus and wouldbe very interested in working with
USAID on Cubaand elsewhere. Sekoranja noted that the May 16
17 EU - LAC Summit will have a strong focus on deelopment
and asked that USAID stay in touch with Slovenia during the
Sloenian EU presidency and beyond.


6. (U) USAID LA A/A Bonicelli did not have an opportunity to
clear on this cable.
COLEMAN