Cuba’s Raul Castro repeats offer to U.S. for talks

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Cuban President Raul Castro  repeated yesterday an offer to discuss “everything” with the  United States to try to improve ties, but said Cuba did not  have to make conciliatory “gestures” to its long-time enemy.

His comments kept the door open for negotiations with U.S.  President Barack Obama’s administration, but also signaled such  a process might not be easy because of Cuba’s belief that  concessions must come chiefly from the United States.

“We have reiterated that we are willing to talk about  everything with the United States, in equality of conditions,  but not to negotiate our sovereignty, nor our political and  social system, the right to self-determination, nor our  internal affairs,” Castro said in a speech to a ministerial  meeting in Havana of the Non-Aligned Movement.

“Cuba has not imposed sanctions against the United States  … and therefore it is not Cuba that has to make gestures,” he  said.

Obama earlier this month eased the U.S. trade embargo, a  Cold War policy imposed against communist-ruled Cuba since  1962, by removing limits on travel by Cuban Americans and  remittances sent to the island. He also lifted restrictions for  U.S. telecommunications companies wanting to operate in Cuba.

Asked about Castro’s latest comments, State Department  spokesman Robert Wood countered that Cuba must show it was  serious about dialogue by releasing political prisoners and  taking other steps to improve human rights.

“We’re interested in a dialogue with Cuba, but I think the  international community wants to see some steps from Havana to  gauge how serious the government there is,” Wood told reporters  in Washington.

While he has called for a new U.S. policy toward Cuba,  Obama has said the embargo should stay in place as leverage for  Cuban progress on democracy and human rights.

“There’s no plan at this point to lift that embargo, but we  do want to do what we can to support the Cuban people,” said  Wood.

Raul Castro said Obama’s recent measures were “positive”  but “limited in scope.”

“There is no political or moral pretext that justifies  continuing that policy,” he said of the embargo, put in place  by President John F. Kennedy 47 years ago with the aim of  toppling the Cuban government.

Raul Castro has offered wide-ranging talks with the U.S.  before, the last time on April 16, when he said topics could  include political prisoners — whom Cuba views as “mercenaries”  in the service of the United States — as well as democracy and  freedom of the press.

The Obama administration greeted the April 16 comments as  an important gesture, but Raul Castro’s older brother, former  leader Fidel Castro, wrote a few days later that the words had  been “misinterpreted” and he indicated Cuba had no intention of  making concessions to Washington.