-DATE-
19740703
-YEAR-
1974
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
MESSAGE
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
WILL TALK WITH KISSINGER IF CONGRESS LIFTS BLOCK
-PLACE-
HAVANA
-SOURCE-
PARIS AFP
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19740702
-TEXT-
CASTRO: WILL TALK WITH KISSINGER IF CONGRESS LIFTS BLOCKADE

Paris AFP in Spanish 1126 GMT 3 Jul 74 C

[Alfredo Munoz Unsain dispatch]

[Text] Havana, 3 Jul--Prime Minister Fidel Castro last night indicated his
willingness to talk with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger if the United
States lifts the blockade against Cuba.

He also said he would shortly receive U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chief of Staff Pat Holt, who is visiting in Havana.

Castro made these statements to his AFP correspondent when he went to the
Argentine Embassy to sign the register of condolences extended over the
death of President Peron.

Castro called Kissinger a realistic politician and instituted that there
was a lack of moral or logical justification for the sanctions against
Cuba.

The Cuban leader said the United States trades with socialist countries on
a large scale and asked: "Why do we have to suffer a blockade that is
unfounded?"

He remarked that Washington cannot continue indefinitely following the
embargo policy adopted in 1964 by the Organization of American States.

Cuba, Castro stated, has shown that it can resist the United States
victoriously and that, partly as a result of this example, Latin American
countries are increasingly becoming firm in defending their independence
from the great neighbor of the north.

These statements by Castro follow the line of his acceptance of Cuba's
attendance at a foreign ministers' conference in Buenos Aires in March of
1975 if invited. A statement to this effect was made to Mexican Foreign
Minister Emilio O. Rabasa last March and released by Rabasa in April.

In another gesture of good will, Castro revealed to this agency that he
would receive the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee's chief of staff,
Pat Holt. He noted that Pat Holt is presently in Cuba on an information
mission assigned to him by Senator William Fulbright, the president of the
committee. Castro said that Fulbright, when he made the request, expressed
the committee's interest in obtaining direct testimony of the true
situation in Cuba for its own satisfaction and for the management of its
policy.

The Cuban prime minister described the senators' intention and Fulbright's
request as positive steps that induced him to allow Holt's trip. Moreover,
he said he felt that the State Department's authorization of Holt's trip to
Cuba may indicate a certain change.

In the event the United States should decide for a detente with Cuba,
Secretary Kissinger--as all experts are aware--must have the support of
Congress.

Castro showed himself pleased at the fact that Holt proposes to inform the
influential U.S. Senate committee objectively.
-END-