Cuba Reaffirms Dialogue As A Way To Avoid Confrontation
KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- Havana remains committed to dialogue as a means of resolving differences and avoiding confrontation amid renewed tensions with Washington, according to Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Yadira Ledesma Hernández.
Cuba has been in the headlines this month due to the support it received at the United Nations (UN), followed by new sanctions against Cuban institutions.
In a statement to Bernama International News Service, the ambassador said the Cuban government welcomed the vote at the UN by 136 countries on July 7 in support of holding the debate on the “Necessity of ending the United States blockade against Cuba”.
She said the Cuban government described it as a clear rejection by the international community of the unilateral blockade measures and a demonstration of solidarity with the people of the Caribbean island.
“In that debate, the call prevailed to resolve differences through dialogue, to avoid military aggression against Cuba and to reject the threat of the use of force, along with the denunciation of the extraterritorial nature of these coercive measures and their aggravated effects in the current context, particularly due to the energy blockade and its negative humanitarian impact and disruption of basic services,” she said.
Ledesma said the international cooperation provided by Cuba to numerous developing countries was also recognised.
“And the call for Cuba's removal from the 'List of State Sponsors of Terrorism' was reiterated,” she said, noting that ASEAN also intervened in the international debate.
“They pointed out that the application of unilateral coercive measures against any country undermines sovereign equality and the principles of the UN Charter and International Law, and urged constructive dialogue, mutual respect, and the use of diplomacy,” she said.
On Washington's new round of sanctions, Ledesma cited the Cuban government’s description of the action as “a collective punishment that is part of the maximum pressure policy against Cuba, which seeks to strangle the island's economy and depress its sources of income.”
On July 13, Washington announced sanctions against 10 new Cuban entities, primarily targeting strategic sectors such as tourism, fuel, foreign trade, and maritime transport.
“Representatives from various sectors in Cuba, including civil society organisations such as the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), have warned that the tightening of sanctions will further deteriorate the living conditions of the Cuban people,” she said.
Citing an interview given on July 20 by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez to Russia Today (RT), Ledesma said the president affirmed that the Revolution has always considered negotiation to be the path to resolving bilateral differences.
“The position expressed by Havana – dialogue without conditions, respect for sovereignty and rejection of the threat of the use of force – once again highlights an issue that transcends the bilateral dispute.
“There is a need to preserve Latin America and the Caribbean as a region of peace and prevent global geopolitical tensions from turning the Caribbean into a new arena of confrontation, with unpredictable consequences,” she concluded.
-- BERNAMA
