Cuba says it is open to 'serious and responsible dialogue' with US

Cuba on Friday rejected any suggestion that its political system or the term of its president were subject to negotiation in talks with the United States.

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Saturday that Havana would be open to "a serious and responsible dialogue" with the US, but emphasized it would be without "interference in internal affairs."

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made the comments during the CELAC summit, a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Reuters)

Rodriguez made the comments during the CELAC summit, a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, a regional bloc of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries that excludes the US and Canada.

Cuba on Friday rejected any suggestion that its political system or the term of its president were subject to negotiation in talks with the United States, following reports that Washington sought to remove Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from power.

"I can categorically confirm that ... the political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation, and of course neither the president nor the position of any official in Cuba is subject to negotiation with the United States," Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told a press conference.

Cuba said a week ago that it had entered talks with the U.S. government as an oil blockade imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump pushes the Communist-run nation deeper into economic crisis, and as Trump has said he can do "anything I want" with Cuba, a sovereign neighbor.

Speaking later to a group of foreign activists bringing humanitarian aid to Cuba, Diaz-Canel said Cuba was preparing for a possible U.S. "aggression."