Talks between Cuba and the United States on de-escalating tensions are still at a “very preliminary” stage, Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal told AFP on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Cuba has been bracing for a possible US attack following threats from US President Donald Trump about “taking” the communist-run island after ousting Venezuela’s leader and attacking Iran.<\/p>\n
The former Cold War rivals have, at the same time, held exploratory talks.<\/p>\n
“We are in a very preliminary, very initial phase, and there are still no structured negotiations between the two governments,” Vidal told AFP during a demonstration in Havana to denounce the impact of US sanctions on the impoverished island.<\/p>\n
Trump effectively shut down oil exports to Cuba in January after US forces ousted Havana’s main regional ally and crude supplier, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n
Trump also threatened tariffs on other countries that ship oil to Cuba, deepening an energy crisis on the island marked by recurring blackouts.<\/p>\n
Last week, however, Washington allowed through a Russian oil tanker.<\/p>\n
Vidal, 65, was a key figure in the restoration of relations between Washington and the communist-run island during Barack Obama’s presidency in 2015.<\/p>\n
In February, the Miami Herald listed her as one of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s interlocutors, along with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of former president Raul Castro.<\/p>\n
Cuba has taken apparent steps in recent weeks to ease tensions, notably releasing groups of prisoners in two batches, in what it called a “humanitarian gesture.”<\/p>\n
Last week it announced the pardon of more than 2,000 prisoners. However, none of these were political prisoners, according to human rights NGOs.<\/p>\n
At least 20 political prisoners were released in mid-March.<\/p>\n
Vidal contrasted the current talks with the negotiations between the Obama and Raul Castro administrations, which led to an historic rapprochement that Trump later walked back.<\/p>\n
In 2015, “we worked to create a relationship that was not without differences, but that did not place those differences at the center,” Vidal stressed.<\/p>\n
She insisted however that “Cuba has always believed in dialogue” and “not in confrontation.”<\/p>\n
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