US official downplays Cuba's invitation to summit
US official downplays Cuba's invitation to summit
By KATHIA MARTINEZ, Associated Press | October 8, 2014 | Updated: October 8, 2014 8:13pm
PANAMA CITY (AP) — A senior State Department official said Wednesday that the U.S. is prepared to welcome Cuba for the first time to a region-wide summit but wants heads of state to focus attention on the communist government's human rights record.
At the urging of Latin American leaders, host country Panama plans to invite Cuban President Raul Castro to the Summit of the Americas in April. Cuba was excluded from six previous summits because Washington said it didn't meet the region's standards for democracy and U.S. lawmakers, led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, are urging Panama to reconsider its invitation this time around.
The deputy assistant secretary of state for Latin America, John Feeley, played down the significance of Cuba's likely participation. Speaking to journalists in Spanish during a stop in Panama on Wednesday, Feeley said that "it's not so important the guests at the table but the meal that's served."
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa boycotted the last summit in Cartagena, Colombia, over Cuba's exclusion and several of his leftist allies have threatened to sit out the next gathering of 34 regional heads of state if Cuba isn't invited to attend.
The Washington-based Organization of American States, which organizes the summits, suspended Cuba shortly after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
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http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/US-official-downplays-Cuba-s-invitation-to-summit-5810429.php