UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Wednesday urging the U.S. to repeal its trade embargo against Cuba, and the island nation's foreign minister said he expects the next American president to respond positively.
It was the 17th straight year that the General Assembly called for the embargo to be repealed "as soon as possible."
"We expect that the new president will change the policy toward Cuba," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told media persons following the vote.
Referring to the race pitting Democrat Barack Obama against Republican John McCain, Perez Roque said he hopes the next American leader "treats Cuba with respect, lifts the blockade, and hears the message that the U.N. sent today."
The vote in the 192-member world body was 185 to 3, with 2 abstentions. The U.S., Israel and Palau voted "no" while Micronesia and the Marshall Islands abstained.
That was one more "yes" vote than last year's vote of 184 to 4 with 1 abstention, and when the final vote flashed on the screen in the General Assembly chamber, there was loud applause.
Perez Roque said earlier that regardless of what the U.S. does, "I would like to reiterate that they shall never be able to bring the Cuban people to their knees."
U.S. diplomat Ronald Godard said every country has the right to restrict trade. He said the embargo is justified because the Cuban government is undemocratic and restricts political and economic freedom.
The United States has no diplomatic relations with Cuba, lists the country as a state sponsor of terror and has long sought to isolate it through travel restrictions and a trade embargo. The embargo, imposed in 1962, has been tightened during President Bush's two terms.
Perez Roque blamed the sanctions for more than $93 billion in total economic damage over the decades.
But Godard told the General Assembly "the real reason the Cuban economy is in terrible condition and that so many Cubans remain mired in poverty is that Cuba's regime continues to deny its people their basic human and economic rights."
The American people, he said, remain the largest providers of humanitarian aid to the Cuban people, providing $240.5 million in private aid in 2007. The U.S. has increased assistance to non-governmental organizations to help address basic needs but Cuba rejected offers of U.S. aid following two devastating hurricanes, he said.
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