Cuba and US keep communication channels open but no negotiations: diplomat

Cuba’s top diplomat in Washington says contacts with US continue but no formal talks Diplomat: Cuba has increased preparations for defense in event of US military action Cuba’s ‘red line’ is political change is not negotiable, diplomat says By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) — Cuba and the United States have maintained “channels of communication” but are not currently engaged in any formal negotiations, Havana’s top diplomat in Washington told Reuters, as the Trump administration pursues a pressure campaign against the communist-ruled island.

In an interview on Monday, Lianys Torres Rivera, chargé d’affaires at the embassy in Washington, said Cuba remains open to a “respectful” dialogue but is “not naïve” about President Donald Trump’s threats and has increased preparations to defend itself in the event of any US military action. The latest US-Cuba diplomatic contacts have involved meetings as well as phone calls and WhatsApp messages, but the two sides have made no progress toward an negotiating agenda or restarting official talks, she said. “What we have with the US is channels of communication,” Torres Rivera said. She declined to provide details on the timing, topics and participants.

Her description of the communications appear to fall short of Trump’s assertion at the United Nations last month that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “deep into negotiations” with Havana. Trump also called Cuba an "failed state” and predicted its government would fall. The Cuban delegation walked out in protest. Trump has openly stated that his goal is to fundamentally change Cuba's government.

A US-imposed oil blockade has put the country under severe strain as it contends with fuel shortages and blackouts exacerbated by failing infrastructure. UN human rights experts have condemned the oil blockade as a violation of international law. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said at the end of June that talks initiated earlier this year with the US had stalled, and in early September that no ​talks were under way or planned. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cuba's 'Red Line' Torres Rivera said Cuba’s “red line” remains that Havana is unwilling to negotiate any changes in its political system, seeing Trump’s demands for the removal of the Cuban leadership as a violation of sovereignty. ” The Trump administration tightened the embargo against Cuba last week, further restricting travel there by Americans and access to US banking for its private sector. Those measures, said Torres Rivera, contradict US insistence that it wants Cuba to expand private enterprise.

Facing US pressure, Cuba in June unveiled free-market reforms that, if fully implemented, would represent the biggest change to the island's socialist economy since former leader Fidel Castro took control in 1959. But Washington says the reforms do not go far enough and has also called for "free and fair" elections. ” But the Cuban government remains wary. “Cuba has always been preparing for an aggression from the US,” Torres Rivera said.

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