When the Americans decided to normalise relations with Cuba this summer, it put an end to half a century of Swiss diplomatic mediation. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
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From 1961, the Swiss Embassy in Havana represented the interests of the US in Cuba, while the Swiss Embassy in Washington did the same for Cuban interests in the US from 1991.
The Swiss ambassador to Havana, Emil Stadelhofer, played a role in everything from the Cuban missile crisis, a conflict that nearly started World War III, to the mass exodus of Cuban refugees to the US starting in 1965.
Papers published by Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland, a research project to edit key documents on Swiss foreign relations, make it clear that the Swiss were trusted interlocutors in efforts to bring Washington and Havana closer together during the darkest hours of the Cold War.
Peter Kornbluh, co-author of a book, Back Channel to Cuba, about bilateral US/Cuban efforts towards rapprochement and reconciliation, says Stadelhofer’s close ties with the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, probably prevented the nationalisation of the US embassy in 1964.
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Cuba-US: time to lower the Swiss flag – and open banks?
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“Due to its historic position and its experience, Switzerland is ideally positioned to accompany the current process of transition in Cuba,” the Swiss foreign ministry told swissinfo.ch. As early as 1961, because of its status as a neutral country, Switzerland received a request from the United States to represent its interests towards the Cuban government. …
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This is the first ever ministerial-level visit between Switzerland and Cuba. During a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla on Thursday, Burkhalter offered his congratulations on the resumption of relations between Cuba and the US, foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier said. Both foreign ministers pledged to deepen relations between their own countries, with Burkhalter…
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The exhibition, which runs until August 24, contains many original prints, publications, newspaper articles and a previously unpublished book on Cuban women. It also leaves the island – where Chessex lived from 1961 to 1975 – and presents images of his travels in Latin America. To mark the occasion, the museum has published two books…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.