France's foreign minister called for the release of political prisoners in Cuba during a meeting Tuesday with his Cuban counterpart, authorities said, according to AP. Philippe Douste-Blazy of France and Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque aired their differences over the issue of human rights in the Caribbean country, the ministry said. «The meeting was devoted exclusively to the human rights situation in Cuba,» the ministry said in a statement. Douste-Blazy «firmly reiterated our positions, and demanded the liberation of the political prisoners held in Cuba.» Perez Roque «reiterated the traditional position of his government on this point,» the statement said. «The two ministers thus stated their disagreement.» Perez Roque, in Paris for a biannual general conference of UNESCO, did not speak to reporters or comment about the meeting, the Cuban Embassy said, without elaborating.
