Greece: Cuba Libertad Act Response

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000841 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CCA GABRIELA ZAMBRANO AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO USOFFICE ALMATY AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/05/20 TAGS: PREL ETRD ETTC CU GR SUBJECT: Greece: Cuba Libertad Act Response REF: STATE 48487 CLASSIFIED BY: George Frowick, Acting Political Counselor; REASON: 1.4(B),(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) On a bilateral basis, Greece has made no public statements nor undertaken any governmental actions condemning human rights abuses in Cuba. ¶4. (C) Fernando Remirez de Estenoz Barciela, Head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, visited Greece in February 2009. Barciela separately met Greek president Karolos Papoulias and Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodora Bakoyiannis for courtesy calls. Barciela and his delegation subsequently attended the 18th Congress of the Greek Communist Party (KKE),a minor party in Greek Parliament that continues to maintain close ties to the Cuban regime. ¶5. (C) Information on any investment, trade, or exchange program ties between Greece and Cuba will be delivered septel. SPECKHARD