Leonel Fernández Urges the United States to End the Cold War Period with Cuba

Former President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández considered it is time the United States ends the Cold War period with Cuba, and defended the island’s right to participate in the upcoming Summit ofthe Americas, to be held next year in Panamá.

"If the Cold War ended, it should end for all," said the former President during a meeting organized by the Inter-American Dialogue at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

The Summits of the Americas regularly bring together heads of state and government of the continent to discuss issues ofcommon interest. The 34 countries that currently make up the Organization of American States (OAS), except Cuba, are involved in these summits. In 1962 Cuba was suspended from the OAS and, although the sanction was lifted in 2009, the island has not requested their return to the organization. Panamá has expressed its desire to engage Cuba, while the United States
considers that the island does not meet minimum democratic requirements to attend. But for Fernández "it is time that the United States leaves behind the situation with Cuba".

The Dominican politician claimed that in this year, which marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, there is no justification that Cuba cannot attend the Summit of the Americas in Panamá. "How is itthat United States has formal relations with China, led by the Communist Party? How is it that the
United States maintains relations with Vietnam, which is led by the Communist Party of Vietnam, and has no formal relationship with Cuba," he questioned. According to the former Dominican President, what has prevented this approach "is mostly a domestic situationof electoral politics in the United States”.

As for the Summit of the Americas, Fernández proposed that it should be held every two years instead of four as it is today, so there are
more opportunities for members that serve for one term for exchange among Latin American leaders, and with their counterparts in the U.S. and Canada.

Fernández, who is also President of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD), highlighted the historical sense of "unity" and "integration" between the countries of the continent since their independence, and mentioned the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States (CELAC), which he considered can "coexist" with the OAS because both have"different purposes".

The event was also attended by Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza; former Presidents Ricardo Lagos of Chile, and Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica, and Enrique García, President of the Latin American Development Bank (CAF), and Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). EFE