Communist-ruled Cuba, distancing itself from what it described as tragic and dangerous events in the Soviet Union, said Thursday it would not abandon socialism whatever happened there.
"Whatever happens in the Soviet Union, we will not move away from the path we have chosen . . . we will continue with our independent, Cuban, socialist line," the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, Granma, said in a front-page editorial.It was the most explicit reaction so far by Cuba's communist rulers to the political revolution taking place in the Soviet Union, the country which had been the Caribbean island's political mentor and main economic supplier for three decades.
Granma said the world's press and television had shown events in the Soviet Union over the last 10 days which were "very painful" for the Cuban people.
"It is impossible to deny that these are unfortunate and bitter moments which we would have preferred never to have to experience," the newspaper added.
The new wave of anti-communism in the Soviet Union, the closure of Soviet Communist Party offices and the destruction of monuments to Lenin were a "tragedy" over which Cuba could not rejoice, Granma said.
The newspaper said the events in the Soviet Union could create more difficulties for Cuba's economy, which has already been badly hit by disruptions to Soviet supplies of oil, food and raw materials.
Cuba is heavily dependent on Soviet trade. U.S. intelligence estimates Soviet-Cuban commerce - including grants, subsidies and economic and military aid - totaled about $5 billion last year.
Experts agree that without massive deliveries of oil the island nation's economy would suffer deep dislocations. Some believe it could even collapse.
The Bush administration has been pressing the Soviet Union, a key supplier of fuel and other essential items to Cuba, to eliminate military assistance and significantly cut back economic aid.
In a related development this week, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said President Fidel Castro is ready to negotiate bilaterally with the United States if Washington gets rid of its policy of "force and intimidation" toward the island.
"Cuba is prepared to negotiate with Washington, but on the condition that the policy of force and intimidation, represented by the embargo, is eliminated," Cuba's official news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying.
In a Prensa Latina dispatch monitored in Mexico City, the Cuban official said the embargo "deprives citizens of their rights and of a decent life."
"Washington can chose to trade or not to trade with Cuba," said the unidentified official. "But it doesn't have the right to tell other countries how to trade."
The United States maintains an economic embargo it imposed on Cuba 30 years ago.
"The United States does not have full diplomatic or commercial relations with Cuba in response to Cuba's policies of internal repression and support for insurgency abroad," the department explained in a recent statement. "The embargo . . . is a reflection of our policy regarding Cuba's record of internal repression and support for insurgency abroad."
The embargo has eroded over the years as many Western and Latin American nations now maintain economic relations with Havana. However, the absence of U.S. trade is seen as having a devastating impact on Cuba.
Larry Birns of the Council of Hemispheric Affairs said in an interview with United Press International that Castro knows he is in trouble.
"He has essentially a year left to act," said Birns, who heads the Washington "think tank."
"Castro faces the ultimate crisis," Birns said. "The Cuban leader is a man with only pawns left; all major chess pieces are gone. He has to adopt a mixed economy and some of it already is taking place. He needs to develop trading partners and to get Western investment."
Cuba is infinitely grateful to the Soviet people for the assistance they have given the island in the past, Granma said in its front-page editorial. The newspaper said it believes in the "historic necessity" of maintaining the unity and integrity of the Soviet Union.
Granma said Cuba would resist despite the latest problems.