Cuba open to dialogue with US after Washington tightens sanctions

Cuba is open to dialogue with the US, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday, as the Caribbean island nation prepared measures to avert an energy crisis.

In an emergency briefing, Diaz-Canel, who is also the first secretary of the Communist Party, addressed the intensified economic pressure imposed by Washington, which has isolated the country from its longstanding allies and disrupted oil shipments.

"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States," he said before national and international media, stressing that talks should take place "without pressure, without preconditions, on an equal footing, and with respect for our sovereignty, independence and self-determination."

During his address, he said the communist government had prepared for potential oil shortages and highlighted progress in renewable energy, noting that photovoltaic solar parks are contributing 1,000 megawatts to the national grid, representing a 7% increase.

The country is facing oil shortages due to a confluence of intensified US sanctions, the collapse of its primary supplier Venezuela following political changes, and the subsequent targeting of alternative suppliers like Mexico.

"Cuba is not a terrorist country. There are no foreign military forces or bases in Havana. The only military base belonging to another nation in Cuba is the one operated by the United States," he added.

It marked Diaz-Canel's first public address on rising tensions with Washington since US President Donald Trump ordered a large-scale strike in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an ally of Cuba, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Following Maduro's arrest, in which he and Flores were taken into custody and transported to New York City, where they are being detained, the US cut off Cuba from Venezuelan oil shipments, which had represented the bulk of the island's energy imports.

The Trump administration subsequently tightened economic pressure on Cuba by decreeing tariffs on any country that supplies or sells oil to the island nation, restricting oil inflows from partners such as Mexico, which until recently provided crude and derivatives.

Following Diaz-Canel's address, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt responded to his remarks.

"I think the fact that the Cuban government is on its last leg, and its country is about to collapse, they should be wise in their statements directed toward the president of the United States," she said.

She added, however, that Trump is "always willing to engage in diplomacy."