Cuba Confirms Talks With US Officials

Havana says contacts with Washington have been ‘respectful.’

On Friday, President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed that Cuban officials have held talks with representatives of the United States government.

“First and foremost, the purpose of this conversation is to identify bilateral problems that require solutions, based on their severity and impact,” he said.

Diaz-Canel also mentioned that the talks aim to determine both sides’ willingness to take concrete actions for the benefit of the people of both countries, identify areas of cooperation to address threats, and guarantee the security and peace of both nations and of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“This is part of a very sensitive process, conducted with seriousness and responsibility, because it affects bilateral relations between both nations and demands enormous and significant efforts to find solutions and create spaces for understanding that will allow us to move away from confrontation,” the Cuban president specified.

The contacts were promoted by Diaz-Canel himself and by Raul Castro with the aim of addressing bilateral differences through dialogue.

The Cuban president said the exchanges have taken place in a “respectful” atmosphere, focused on identifying problems between the two countries and seeking solutions that benefit their peoples.

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For months, media reports had pointed to the existence of discreet contacts between Washington and Havana amid the current situation facing the island due to the U.S. energy blockade. Until now, however, Cuban authorities had not officially confirmed those contacts.

The official acknowledgment of these conversations comes just one day after the Cuban government announced the early release of 51 imprisoned individuals, a measure Havana presented as the result of an agreement with the Vatican and as a gesture of “good will” within the framework of relations with the Holy See.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said the inmates will be released in the coming days and that all have served a significant portion of their sentences and maintained good behavior in prison. However, the Cuban government did not publish the names of those who will benefit from the measure.

In the past, similar prisoner releases have been linked to diplomatic negotiations with the United States. This was the case, for example, with the mediation carried out by the Vatican in 2014 to facilitate a rapprochement between the governments of Barack Obama and Raul Castro.

Diaz-Canel stressed that any negotiation process must be conducted on the basis of recognizing equality among states, respect for the self-determination of peoples, and the pursuit of friendly relations between the parties.

(Telesur)