Further improvement of Cuba-U.S. ties depends on end of embargo: FM

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday that further improvement of ties with Washington depends on the end of the more than 50-year-old U.S. embargo.

"The world understands that although the U.S.-Cuba dialogue and cooperation have advanced, the blockade remains the same," he told the Standing Commission of Foreign Policy of the National Assembly of People's Power (parliament).

The minister also said the current Cuba policy debate at the U.S. Congress shows an inner struggle in Washington as U.S. sanctions against Havana had "suffered terrible international isolation."

"The unbearable nature of the blockade and the impossible continuation of excluding Cuba from the Summits of the Americas have convinced the American financial sector, which is the real ruler in that country, that the policy toward Cuba must change," he added.

"At the same time, most Americans support a rational policy of reciprocity, and are respectful of Cuba's sovereignty and independence."

Rodriguez also expects further improvement of Cuba's relations with the European Union.

He also expressed the hope that the recent climate agreement reached in Paris and the UN Agenda of Development 2030 will lead to changes in world order. Endi