Cuba Signals Willingness for Talks with Washington
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Fernandez de Cossio addressed escalating frictions that followed recent moves by US President Donald Trump to introduce additional tariffs connected to Cuba.
Alluding to what he characterized as American “pressure,” the deputy foreign minister stated that these actions had negatively affected Cuba and maintained that constructive engagement would be a preferable option to the persistence of punitive measures.
He noted that Havana remains open to working with Washington on issues such as counter-narcotics efforts, emphasizing that Cuba has previously offered cooperation in this area and is prepared to maintain that collaboration.
At the same time, he firmly dismissed the prospect of negotiations over Cuba’s internal political structure, declaring: “We’re not ready to discuss our constitutional system. We assume the United States is not ready to discuss their constitutional system, their political system or their economic reality,” he said.
His statements came after remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who indicated that the United States hopes to see a change in Cuba’s governing system.
Rubio said in late January that the US wants regime change in Cuba, adding: “That doesn't mean that we're going to make a change, but we would love to see a change.”
Earlier, Trump had announced that discussions with Cuba were underway following his signing of an executive order on Jan. 30 that imposed tariffs on products from nations that supply oil to the island.
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