CUBA, December 26, 2006.- Cuba irrefutably succeeded in foreign policy during 2006, a Foreign Ministry source asserted on Tuesday, highlighting the overwhelming UN vote against the US economic, financial, and trade blockade.

Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Eumelio Caballero told Prensa Latina there are enough reasons to be satisfied with the Cuban diplomatic performance in the last 12 months, although there are important challenges.

Caballero stressed the unprecedented support by the UN General Assembly (183 of 192 possible votes) to a bill that demanded to stop Washington`s economic siege.

He also mentioned the vote of 35 countries, supporting Cuba`s entry to the new UN Human Rights Council, a forum for which the United States did not even dared to run.

Those two issues (blockade and human rights) are a Cuban Foreign Ministry priority, because they are used by the United States to try to achieve its old objective of destroying the Revolution, diverse sources said.

Latin America and the Caribbean, together with Africa, which the Cubans call the "continent of solidarity," were important for political support to Cuba in its struggle against the economic siege, which was intensified by the White House halfway through this year, with the so called Plan Bush.

Of 33 nations, 31 lashed the blockade, while the Latin America-European Union Summit included in its final declaration, for the first time, disagreement with the US Helms-Burton law.

Something similar happened with a special communique of the Ibero-American Summit in Montevideo, Uruguay, a position also adopted in the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific group meeting.

The vice foreign minister said the small Caribbean island has diplomatic relations with 181 UN member countries and six others that do not belong to that authority, as Palestine, the Vatican, and the Sovereign, Military, and Hospitable Malta Order.

At the same time, Cuba has 142 diplomatic and consular missions in 116 countries, 113 of which are embassies, one interest section (the United States), and two consulates (Australia and Costa Rica), as well as representations in international organizations. (Cubaminrex-PL)

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