U.S. rejects talking to Cuba's dictator-in-waiting

U.S. rejects talking to Cuba's "dictator-in-waiting"
Mon Dec 4, 2006 3:48pm ET30

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department on Monday rejected an offer
of talks with Raul Castro, Cuba's acting president, saying it saw no
point in a dialogue with what it called the Caribbean island's
"dictator-in-waiting."

"The dialogue that should be taking place is not between Raul Castro and
any group outside or any country outside of Cuba. It's the regime, with
the Cuban people, talking about a transition to a democratic form of
governance in that country," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
told reporters.

The offer of talks, made on Saturday, was the most direct overture to
the United States by the designated successor to Fidel Castro, who gave
power to his brother temporarily after undergoing emergency intestinal
surgery in late July.

At a military parade on Saturday, Raul Castro railed at the Bush
administration and condemned the Iraq war but added: "We take this
opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the
negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States
and Cuba."

Asked if a dialogue might hasten Cuba's transition to democracy,
McCormack said: "I don't see how. I don't see how that really furthers
the cause of democracy in that country where you have dialogue with a
dictator-in-waiting who wants to continue the form of governance that
has really kept down the Cuban people for all these decades."

Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961, two years
after Fidel Castro seized power in a revolution and turned Cuba into a
Soviet ally. Communication channels were restored with the opening of
low-level diplomatic missions called interest sections in 1978.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-12-04T204808Z_01_N04194251_RTRUKOC_0_US-CUBA-USA-CASTRO.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-politicsNews-3