Cuba confirms talks with Trump administration, warns common ground will take time

Investing.com -- Cuba's government confirmed on Friday it is holding talks with the Trump administration, President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced.

The confirmation follows speculation about discussions between the two countries after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat of a "friendly takeover" of Cuba, describing the communist-run Caribbean island as being in "deep trouble."

"These conversations have been aimed at seeking solutions, through dialogue, to bilateral differences that exist between the two nations," Díaz-Canel said, according to a readout posted on social media by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Díaz-Canel noted that "there are international factors that have facilitated these exchanges."

At a press conference on Friday, Díaz-Canel cautioned that negotiations were "long processes" that require willingness and channels for dialogue, saying "All of that takes time," according to CBS News.

Trump has recently spoken publicly about Cuba becoming the subject of another major foreign policy move. The U.S. president said earlier this month that after Iran's regime is toppled, "Cuba's going to fall, too," according to Politico.

Cuba is facing a worsening economic crisis. The U.S. has imposed an oil blockade on the island since January, shortly after its ally and a key provider of oil, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was seized in an extraordinary military operation.

The Trump administration has been pursuing aggressive foreign policy moves at hostile regimes, including arresting Maduro and engaging alongside Israel in military action in Iran that resulted in the death of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

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