The Spain-Cuba talks in Havana this week on human rights ended with a dud with this week, with no major announcement, with no news, with nothing to suggest it was anything more than a diplomatic shadow dance. Yes, it looked like they were doing something, but when you poked at the figures doing their dance to see what they might reveal, there was nothing there.
As the Associated Press reported:
HAVANA: Spain said Thursday it held "frank and cordial" discussions about such thorny issues as human rights, the death penalty and treatment of prisoners in Cuba, despite U.S. complaints it has been too friendly with the communist island.
In a joint statement, Spanish and Cuban authorities did not report any major agreements in the two days of closed-door meetings, and leading Cuban government critics were barred from attending.
Both sides said the meetings remained friendly, despite delving into human rights topics that usually make Cuban officials bristle.
No news from the talks, of course, is bad news for the Cubans stuck with their "bristling" officials.
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