By BARRY SCHWEID
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Alone in its policy of trying to isolate Fidel Castro, the Clinton administration says there is nothing to be gained from seeking a dialogue with the Cuban president.
"He will only seek to justify his own actions and his own revolution,'' the State Department spokesman, James P. Rubin, said Monday.
Nations attending the 34-nation Western hemisphere summit in Santiago, Chile, over the weekend called for new overtures to Havana. Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada is planning a visit later in the spring.
But the United States declines to bend, even as it acknowledges it is the odd man out. "We don't see the reason why we have to have a knee-jerk policy towards every country in the world,'' Rubin said.
The criticism is no surprise, he said, but U.S. policy toward Cuba remains unchanged.
As for the Canadian leader's planned visit to Havana, the spokesman said "it's not up to us to tell people where to go, obviously.''
However, Rubin went on, "We have not seen any evidence that constructive engagement with Cuba has produced results with regard to improving respect for human rights or promoting democracy in Cuba.''
AP-NY-04-20-98 1832EDT