STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP):

Sweden has demanded an apology from Cuba after the Caribbean nation's ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) in Geneva lashed out at "Swedish imperialism" and accused Sweden of racial bias.

The diplomatic spat started March 12 when Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt criticised Cuba's human rights record in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In his response, the Cuban Ambassador to the U.N., Juan Antonio Fernandez Palacios, accused Sweden of being cynical, saying Bildt's comments recalled "the not-so-glorious days of Swedish imperialism, which filled with blood and pain their neighbouring countries."

His comments, which appeared to refer to Swedish wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, were met with indignation in a country that has remained at peace for nearly 200 years.

"We don't accept an outburst of that kind against our nation," Bildt told reporters yesterday in Stockholm. "It was a hysterical outburst. It is totally unacceptable and shows proof of a desperate regime."

Demands explanation

Bildt said the foreign ministry summoned Cuba's ambassador to Stockholm on March 14, demanding an explanation and an apology for Palacios' remarks. None was given, foreign ministry spokesman Christian Carlsson said.

No one answered phone calls seeking comment at the Cuban Embassy after office hours yesterday afternoon.

In his address to the human rights council, Palacios also implicated Sweden in the CIA's rendition programme of terrorism suspects and suggested Sweden was racially biased.

"In Cuba one does not persecute migrants nor does one try to carry out ethnic cleansing that just allows for retaining in the country those whose skin colour and hair colour would fit in better with the racial patterns of former Viking conquerors," he said. It was not immediately clear what he was referring to.