U.S. reaffirms opposition to Cuba attending Americas Summit

U.S. reaffirms opposition to Cuba attending Americas Summit
Published September 26, 2014 EFE

The United States reaffirmed Friday its opposition to Cuba's
participation in the Americas Summit, on grounds that only "democratic"
countries should attend, but did not specify whether it would skip the
regional conference if Panama goes forward with its intention to invite
the Cuban government.

The U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs,
Roberta Jacobson, made the U.S. position known the day after Panamanian
President Juan Carlos Varela said at the United Nations that he is
making an effort to have all the region's heads of state attend the 2015
Americas Summit to be held in his country.

Panama is the host country of the summit, Jacobson said at a press
conference in New York, and as such it will decide who to invite.

She did not specify whether the United States would refuse to attend in
case Cuba is there, because that is still a hypothetical situation.

But she said Americans believe that the summit process is a commitment
to democratic government, and that governments sitting at the table must
be committed to the principles of the summit, which include democratic
governance.

That is her country's position now, she said, and at present the U.S.
does not believe Cuba complies with those principles.

The solid opposition of the United States and Canada kept Cuba from
attending the 2012 Americas Summit, given that Colombia, the host
country, decided that the island could only be invited if there were a
consensus that it should. EFE

Source: U.S. reaffirms opposition to Cuba attending Americas Summit |
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