Alejandro García del Toro, Deputy Director General for U.S. Affairs at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), provided statements to Granma on the matter.
In an exchange this morning, the newspaper Granma asked García del Toro about recent foreign press reports regarding meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana.
García del Toro stated: “This is a sensitive issue that, as we have said, we handle with discretion.
“However, I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the United States was recently held here in Cuba. On the U.S. side, participants included Assistant Secretaries from the Department of State, and on the Cuban side, officials at the level of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“During the meeting, neither side set deadlines nor issued ultimatum-like demands, as has been reported by some U.S. media outlets. All exchanges took place in a respectful and professional manner.
“The removal of the energy blockade against the country was a top priority for our delegation. This act of economic coercion is an unjustified punishment against the entire Cuban population. It also constitutes global-scale pressure against sovereign states, which have every right to export fuel to Cuba in accordance with the norms governing free trade.”
(Source: Granma)