CUBA: D'ALEMA CONGRATULATES RAUL CASTRO, GENTLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000225 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL EU CU IT SUBJECT: CUBA: D'ALEMA CONGRATULATES RAUL CASTRO, GENTLY URGES GREATER OPENNESS REF: STATE 18317 Classified By: A/Pol M/C Jonathan R. Cohen, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) Ambassador spoke to FM D'Alema February 24 to deliver reftel points on promoting democratic change in Cuba. He urged D'Alema to issue a statement calling for free and fair elections, the release of political prisoners, and dialogue with democratic activists and civil society. D'Alema said that he agreed with our message and would consider making a statement following the selection of Cuba's next president by the State Supreme Council. ¶2. (U) The MFA released the following statement the afternoon of February 25: Begin informal Embassy translation. On the news of Raul Castro's appointment as President of the Council of State of the Cuban Republic, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema sent him the following message today: "I would like to express my most sincere congratulations, with the hope that under your leadership CUBA will undertake with the necessary resolve a path capable of reconciling the Cuban Revolution's social achievements with the need to respect individual rights and render concretely operational the principles of pluralism. Your election marks a new phase in the history of Cuba. I hope the initiatives that will characterize your Presidency in the political, economic, and social spheres will effectively encourage the start of a new season of greater openness toward dialogue, including in relations with the international community. I am certain that, on this basis, relations between our two countries -- traditionally founded on friendship and cooperation -- will develop further within the wider context of a more in-depth relationship between Italy and Latin America. End informal Embassy translation. SPOGLI