Скачать или смотреть Cuban diplomat tells the AP there's no dialogue with the US but the island is open to one

(2 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba - 2 February 2026
1. Various of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío sitting
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: ++STARTS AT SHOT 1 AND PARTIALLY OVERLAID ++"What I can tell is that we've been exchanging messages for some time. It's logical, we have diplomatic relations and issues to discuss. But if you ask me if today we have a table of dialogue, we do not."
3. Cossío in interview
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs:
"We're far from there, it has to do to what extent the United States is ready to have a respectful dialogue with Cuba."
5. Cossío in interview
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: ++STARTS FROM SHOT 5 TO 7 AND PARTIALLY OVERLAID ++
"But the question is: what can Cuba do? Just watch us. We're not going to reveal any agony we have to ensure the supply of oil or fuel or how we're going to organize our society or economy to be able to cope with a very difficult situation."
7. Cossío in interview photos of Fidel and Raúl Castro behind
STORYLINE:
A senior Cuban diplomat told The Associated Press on Monday that his government does not have a “table of dialogue” with the United States but is open to one if certain criteria are met as tensions remain high between the two countries.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is starting to talk with Cuban leaders after he threatened tariffs on any country providing oil to the island.

“We’re not talking specifically about negotiation yet,” Cossío said. “That’s another issue.”

“We are open to dialogue,” he said. “If we can have a dialogue, maybe that can lead to negotiation.”

Cossío said Cuba is ready to have “informal dialogue” with the U.S. “with the aim of ensuring that we can have a respectable, serious coexistence in spite of the differences between our two countries.”

But Cossío stressed there are certain things that are off the table for Cuba, including the country’s Constitution, economy and system of government.

“But there are many, many other issues which we can discuss,” he said.

When asked how long Cuba can sustain the current conditions, given the acute economic crisis, ongoing blackouts and the disruption in oil shipments from Venezuela, Cossío said he could not reveal “any avenue” the island has to ensure the supply of petroleum or cope with what he described as “a very difficult situation.”

“Cuba, of course, is preparing itself with creativity, with stoicism and with austerity,” he said. “What can Cuba do? Just watch us.”

When Trump signed an executive order late last week to impose tariffs, he called Cuba a “failing nation” and said, “it looks like it’s something that’s just not going to be able to survive.”

Cuba relied heavily on oil shipments from Venezuela, but those were disrupted when the U.S. attacked the South American country on Jan. 3 and arrested its president.

Meanwhile, Trump has said that he asked Mexico to suspend oil shipments to Cuba.

On Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced she would send food and other humanitarian aid to Cuba, adding that her government was try to “diplomatically solve everything related to the oil shipments” to Cuba.

In a brief interview, Cossío stressed that Cuba is not a threat to the United States.


Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán.



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