Obama’s pro-Cuba gestures must ‘follow through’
French President Francois Hollande has called on his American counterpart, Barack Obama, to lift US economic sanctions on Cuba amid a visit by President Raul Castro to Paris.
Hollande made the remarks Monday during a joint news conference with the Caribbean island's president who arrived in France to discuss ways to boost economic relations between Havana and Paris.
"France has always been convinced that despite the international tensions that could exist, the Cold War of yesterday, there was one necessity, which was the lifting of the embargo, and therefore the end of the blockade. This is the message I wanted to deliver when I went to Havana. This is the message I still deliver today,” Hollande said.
“This embargo, this blockade must now be erased in order for Cuba to take all its place. And it is the will of this country, it is the one of the international community. And so (United States) President (Barack) Obama, who has made numerous gestures (toward Cuba) - and he has said it himself - must follow through and allow this vestige of the Cold War to end," he added.
In response, Castro said he does "appreciate France's traditional position in favor of the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo from the United States against Cuba, which is the main obstacle to the development of our country."
France has called on the US to lift the embargo on Cuba since 1991.
Cuba is still under US economic sanctions which have inflicted over $121 billion worth of damages on its economy, according to Havana.
The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and placed an official embargo against the country in 1962.
The two countries became ideological foes soon after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power and their ties remained hostile even after the end of the Cold War.
On December 17, 2014, Obama announced that the US would start talks with Cuba to normalize diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in American foreign policy towards the country in over 50 years.
On April 11, 2015, Obama and Castro held unprecedented face-to-face talks in Panama, the first sitdown between the leaders of the two countries since 1956.
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