U.S., Cuba Demand Economic Payouts from Each Other

U.S., Cuba Demand Economic Payouts from Each Other
August 4, 2016 | Posted by Lena D

HAVANA, CUBA (ACN) — Cuba will not accept unilateral solutions that do
not satisfy its interests, Cuban deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno
said in Havana, referring to talks with the U.S. on mutual compensation.
The government official pointed out at a press conference that Cuba made
it clear during last Thursday's meeting with representatives of the U.S.
administration that this is a two-way process and stressed that, in
Cuba's opinion, there should be recognition of the integrity of the
process in order to conclude it on favorable terms.
Moreno added that the U.S. is demanding compensation for economic
damages due to the nationalization laws after the revolution, and which,
according to Washington, affected the country's citizens and companies.
On the Cuban side, there are two demands against the U.S. for human and
economic damages amounting to over $300 billion.
The Cuban deputy foreign minister added that the exchanges are aimed at
achieving mutual compensation between Cuba and the United States and
which is included within the process toward the normalization of
relations that began over a year ago with the reestablishment of
diplomatic ties. But, Moreno said, this is a very complex political,
technical and legal issue because there are a lot of elements at stake.
The U.S. embargo against Cuba that has lasted over five decades and has
affected the development of the country and inflicted huge economic and
human losses, is one of the elements that makes the negotiations on
compensation more complex, Moreno said.
The two Cuban demands for human and economic damages date back to 1999
and 2000, and the legal concepts are in accordance with the practice and
international law, the deputy minister said.

He expressed since the first nationalization laws were passed, the
revolutionary government had committed to compensate foreigners whose
properties were passed on to the Cuban people and, although in the case
of the U.S., there were formulas to assess the compensation, the
attitude of the U.S. administration at the time impeded such action
taking place.
Cuba approved compensation to Canada and other European nations in the
1960s.
The two informative meetings on mutual compensation in December and July
have allowed professional, constructive negotiations with an exchange of
information and experiences, formulas and timetable in the negotiating
process. And Moreno said that the conditions are set to continue the
process.

Source: U.S., Cuba Demand Economic Payouts from Each Other - Atlanta
Black Star -
http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/08/04/u-s-cuba-demand-economic-payouts-from-each-other/