-DATE-
19720619
-YEAR-
1972
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
MEETING
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
CASTRO, STOPH TOASTS PRECEDE DELEGATION'S DEPART
-PLACE-
EAST GERMANY
-SOURCE-
EAST BERLIN ADN
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19720621
-TEXT-
Castro, Stoph Toasts

East Berlin ADN International Service in German 2135 GMT 19 Jun 72 L

[Excerpt] Berlin--In his toast, Fidel Castro expressed the great pleasure
and satisfaction of all members of the Cuban party-government delegation
with the countless tokens of affection extended to them by the GDR people
during their stay in the republic.

Willi Stoph raised a toast to unbreakable friendship and unity in struggle
with Cuba and to the firm alliance of the socialist community.

Castro stated in his toast that the successes of the GDR give courage to
peoples in other countries. "We wish to congratulate you, the party, and
the revolutionary comrades for your successes," Castro said. "We feel
inspired and encouraged. We feel strengthened to move forward. Although
imperialist reactionaries have spread lies, I would like to confirm that my
heart has become stronger and even more healthy."

"It is not necessarily admirable that a heart should support great and
strenuous work. But it must be admired if a heart is capable of absorbing
all the affection and love extended to it. One can cope with work, but it
is more difficult to cope with sentiments as they were expressed to us.
Despite this, I am quite fit and we will leave here, inspired to further
struggle for the revolution, for solidarity, for implementation of duties
and tasks of the communist work, and for the further development of our
relations and friendship.

"It will give us great satisfaction when we are able to reciprocate to
Comrades Honecker and Stoph and to other leading GDR comrades, the many
tokens of solidarity and affection that we have experienced here. It will
give us pleasure to welcome you, dear comrades, to Cuba."

Premier Stoph stressed in his toast: "We can affirm today that the visit of
the Cuban party-government delegation is thus far the most significant
event in the development of long-standing relations of fraternal friendship
and all-round cooperation between our two parties, states, and peoples."
The visit has also contributed to strengthening the joint fraternal
alliance with the Soviet Union and to further consolidating the socialist
community.

"Our parties, states, and peoples are united by the joint struggle for the
realization of the teaching of Marxism-Leninism. Supported by the lofty
ideas of proletarian internationalism, we are united in the
anti-imperialist struggle. It has been so in the past and it will be even
more so in the future through the strengthening of ties of friendship,"
Stoph stressed.

The constantly developing power of the socialist community with its leading
force, the Soviet Union, is being increased all the time. "This opens new
prospects for developing the revolutionary process in the world and forms
the basis for the great effectiveness of the Leninist foreign policy of the
socialist countries and its even more strongly growing influence on
international events. Our joint fraternal solidarity goes to all nations
fighting for peace and socialism, national independence, and liberation
from the imperialist yoke. We affirmed this repeatedly in our talks."

Stoph stressed that the GDR resolutely condemns escalation of the criminal
war of the United States against the Indochinese people and demands the
immediate cessation of the U.S. terror bombing of the DRV, the immediate
lifting of the blockade of the DRV's ports and coast, and the total and
unconditional withdrawal of the U.S. aggressors and their satellites from
all Indochina.
-END-