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Rice's Visit to Spain Signals Thaw in Diplomatic Relations
By Carolyn Phenicie on 6/21/07
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Spain June 1, signaling an end to a freezing of diplomatic relations between the countries but revealing new tensions over Cuba, The Washington Post reported.
Rice and Spanish officials reiterated a shared goal of democracy for Cuba, but when Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos defended his recent visit to Cuba and suggested Rice would eventually see the merits of that method of diplomacy, Rice rolled her eyes, according to The Post.
"I think democratic states have an obligation to act democratically, to support opposition in Cuba, not to give the regime the idea that it is just going to be transition from one dictatorship to another," Rice told The Post.
The previous conservative administration in Spain was one of the Bush administration's strongest allies, but differences emerged when Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's regime came to power and withdrew troops from Iraq.
Rice and Spanish officials reiterated a shared goal of democracy for Cuba, but when Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos defended his recent visit to Cuba and suggested Rice would eventually see the merits of that method of diplomacy, Rice rolled her eyes, according to The Post.
"I think democratic states have an obligation to act democratically, to support opposition in Cuba, not to give the regime the idea that it is just going to be transition from one dictatorship to another," Rice told The Post.
The previous conservative administration in Spain was one of the Bush administration's strongest allies, but differences emerged when Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's regime came to power and withdrew troops from Iraq.
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