Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirms talks with the U.S.

HAVANA — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed talks between the U.S. and Cuba during a speech Friday. It was the first time Cuba’s government has publicly acknowledged the current talks.

“These conversations are focused on finding solutions to bilateral differences we have between the two nations through dialogue,” he said.

Díaz-Canel added there are “international factors that have facilitated these exchanges.”

He said the purpose of these conversations is first to identify bilateral problems that need a solution according to their level of gravity and to “find solutions to those problems that have been identified.”

The confirmation of the meetings between the two countries follows comments from President Donald Trump and other top officials about the communist country. Over the past several weeks, Trump has repeatedly stated the U.S. and Cuba are holding high-level conversations, and he has also said that Cuba is going to “fall.”

Díaz-Canel said Cuba has been willing to have these conversations “on the basis of equality and respect for both countries’ political systems, sovereignty and self-determination of our governments.”

Díaz-Canel spoke about the dire situation in the country due to fuel shortages, saying fuel shipments have not arrived to the island in three months. He acknowledged that there have been areas of the country that have had electricity blackouts for over 30 hours, affecting water pumping and impacting all economic and social activities. He said that there are tens of thousands of people, including children, whose surgeries have been delayed due to a lack of electricity.

Díaz-Canel has previously said the last shipment of oil arrived in December, before the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured former President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Trump has also blocked oil shipments to Cuba.

The lack of fuel has aggravated an economic crisis on the island, that was already years in the making. Power outages are now over 30 hours long in some parts of the country.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry also announced in a press release on Thursday night they will release 51 prisoners in the coming days in the spirit of goodwill and cited Cuba’s close relationship with the Vatican. The prisoners have served a significant part of their sentence, he said, and have maintained good conduct. The names of the prisoners were not released.

The Vatican has facilitated or mediated in negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba in previous occasions. Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, recently met with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Orlando Matos reported from Havana, Cuba and Carmen Sesin from Miami, Florida.