NEW SWISS AMBASSADOR RECEIVES INTRODUCTION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000087

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2019
TAGS: PREL CU SZ
SUBJECT: NEW SWISS AMBASSADOR RECEIVES INTRODUCTION TO
U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS

Classified By: Chief of Mission Jonathan Farrar for reasons
1.4 (d) and (b)


1. (C) Newly-arrived Swiss ambassador Peter Burkhard
requested to meet with Chief of Mission (COM) on February 10
to share impressions from his initial contacts with the GOC.
Burkhard said he had been surprised that his meeting with
Vice President Almeida during his presentation of credentials
ceremony had been dominated by U.S.-Cuba issues (95 percent
of the meeting, according to Burkhard).


2. C) Burkhard said that Almeida appeared to be following a
careful script most of the time, with an initial reference to
Switzerland's role as the protective power for the U.S. and
Cuban Interests Section. When Burkhard offered to provide a
channel for communication between the U.S. and Cuba, Almeida
replied that we (Cuba and the U.S.) already have a channel.
COM noted that in Havana this channel mostly was restricted
to exchanges of diplomatic notes as the GOC had refused or
not responded to a series of USINT offers to meet or provide
briefings on a variety of issues over the past six months.
Burkhard seemed surprised. COM added that Burkhard's
predecessor had remarked that his GOC interlocutors often
expressed irritation when he had raised issues regarding the
United States or USINT's operations, and that Almeida's
response thus was consistent with past GOC positions.


3. (C) Burkhard relayed that Almeida at one point in their
meeting remarked that this was a time of great change and
turmoil. Burkhard interpreted the remark as a reference to
the global economic and financial crisis, and responded
accordingly. Almeida's reply, according to Burkhard, was to
clarify that he meant great change and turmoil in the Unite
States, and in U.S-Cuban relations. Burkhard added that the
one time Almeida appeared to veer from his script was during
an agitated discourse on the necessity that the U.S. Supreme
Court review the cases of the five Cubans convicted of
espionage-related offenses in the United States and that the
USG return all five to Cuba.


4. (C) Burkhard related that he found a similar focus on the
United States in his initial call on Deputy Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodriguez. The Deputy Minister spent almost the entire
meeting on the results of the U.S. elections, and what they
might mean for Cuba. Burkhard also said that Rodriguez asked
aloud as to why there had been no USG message to Cuba from
the new Administration. COM said that USINT had been
repeating a consistent theme since November 4, namely that
the Administration would focus on a wide range of issues
around the world and that there are many pressing issues at
the moment beyond Cuba. Burkhard replied that his impression
is that the GOC sees Cuba as ranking high among U.S.
priorities and is uncomfortable with the notion that other
priorities might be more pressing for us.


5. (C) Comment: Burkhard's impression of GOC discomfort is
consistent with the irritation toward the USG expressed in
Fidel's latest "Reflections" column. Such GOC impatience may
actually play in our favor down the road. End comment.
FARRAR