“Address” Does Not Mean “Mediate”

On 12 January 2021, the United States Department of State during the Trump Administration returned the Republic of Cuba to the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism

One Week Ago, United States Secretary Of State Blinken Visited Brussels, Met With EC Leadership, And They Reported Cuba Was Not Discussed

What Changed In One Week?

Josep Borrell Fontelles
High Representative
Vice President Of The European Commission
Brussels, Belgium

29 March 2021

Mr Javier Moreno Sanchez MEP
The Members of the Group of Friendship and Solidarity with the People of Cuba in the European Parliament

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

Thank you for your letter of 15 February on the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism by the previous US administration. As I have stated to Foreign Minister Rodriguez at the EU-Cuba Joint Council on 20 January, the EU rejects this designation. The decision taken by the previous US administration has no factual basis, given the positive role Cuba has played in the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional, ELN). The ELN members were in Cuba as part of the now aborted peace negotiations with the Colombian government, having travelled there at the request of the Colombian government for the negotiation process, which has had the full support of the EU. As I have indicated in my statement referred to above(1), this designation adds to the hardship caused to the Cuban people by the US embargo. In our contacts with the new US administration, we will address this issue and call on the US to lift this designation. Yours faithfully, Josep Borrell Fontelles

Javier Moreno Sanchez @J_MorenoSanchez 31 March 2021
Hoy @JosepBorrellF ha respondido favorablemente a mi petición, en calidad de presidente del Intergrupo de Amistad y Solidaridad con el Pueblo de #Cuba en la Eurocámara, para que la UE medie con la Admon. Biden y retire a de la lista de países que fomentan el terrorismo. LINK

Xinhua News Agency
Beijing, China
1 April 2021

The European Union (EU) has agreed to mediate in Cuba-U.S. relations, the Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported Thursday.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell on Wednesday accepted the request made by the Group of Friendship and Solidarity with the People of Cuba in the European Parliament "to mediate before the U.S. government in order to remove Cuba from the unilateral list of countries that encourage terrorism," the ACN reported. In a letter written by Borrell to members of the European Parliament, which was made public Wednesday on Twitter, the high representative said, "in our contacts with the new U.S. administration, we will address this issue and call on the U.S. to lift this designation."

In response, Ana Mari Machado, deputy president of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power, tweeted Wednesday that the assembly appreciated the EU's decision. "Cuba does not sponsor nor promote terrorism. We support peace, solidarity and collaboration between peoples," she said. Cuba should have never been included in the list, Cuba's ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira said Thursday on Twitter, adding that "Cuba only sponsors and promotes solidarity and peace, not terrorism."

"The European Union clearly states its constructive commitment to Cuba," Carlos Alzugaray, senior university professor and Cuba's former ambassador to the EU, told Xinhua. "It has also an economic dimension: the European Union protects its economic interests in Cuba, which are threatened by (former U.S. Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo's unilateral action," he added.

Cuba was first designated by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1982, and was removed from the list in 2015 under the administration of then U.S. President Barack Obama as the two countries re-established diplomatic ties. However, on Jan. 11, 2020, just a few days before then U.S. President Donald Trump left office, Pompeo announced that the United States had restored Cuba to the list. In early March, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a daily briefing that the United States is committed to reviewing Trump administration's designation. But she also said, "a Cuba policy shift is not currently among President (Joe) Biden's top priorities."

teleSUR
Caracas, Venezuela
2 April 2021

EU Agrees to Mediate with Biden on Cuba Terrorism Designation

teleSUR English #Cuba Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy agreed to mediate before the US government in order to remove Cuba from the unilateral list of countries that sponsor terrorism. | Photo: Twitter/@EmbaCubaUS

Ana Mari Machado, vice president of the National Assembly of People's Power, thanked the request made by the Intergroup of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba in the European Parliament and the favorable response given by the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell to mediate with the U.S. President Joe Biden. According to the Cuban lawmaker Machado on Twitter, "Cuba does not sponsor or encourage terrorism. We nurture peace, solidarity, and collaboration among peoples."

The statement was made after the favorable response given on Wednesday by Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, to mediate with the U.S. government to remove Cuba from the unilateral list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

Agradecemos petición formulada por el Intergrupo de Amistad y Solidaridad con Cuba en @Europarl_ES y respuesta favorable de @JosepBorrellF #Cuba No patrocina ni fomenta el terrorismo. Alimentamos la paz, la solidaridad y la colaboración entre los pueblos. @AsambleaCuba https://t.co/muCXoXh2mf- Ana Mari Machado (@anamarianpp) March 31, 2021

"We appreciate the request made by the Intergroup of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba in @Europarl_ES and favorable response from @JosepBorrellF. Cuba does not sponsor or encourage terrorism. We nurture peace, solidarity, and collaboration among peoples."

Javier Moreno Sánchez, president of the Spanish Socialist Delegation in the European Parliament, revealed that "today Josep Borrell has responded favorably to my request, as president of the Intergroup of Friendship and Solidarity with the People of Cuba in the European Parliament, for the EU to mediate with the Biden Administration and remove Cuba from the list of countries that promote terrorism." Including Cuba in the spurious nomenclature is a political instrument to exert pressure and demonize and justify various hostile measures against Cuba taken up by the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, just before the end of his term in office.

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