Cuba is open to talks with the United States about "everything" including political prisoners, President Raul Castro said today in a major softening of the communist island's stance toward its long-term foe.
"We have sent messages to the US government in private and in public that we are willing to discuss everything, whenever they want," Castro said in a speech to a meeting of leftist leaders in Venezuela on the anniversary of a failed US-led invasion of Cuba in 1961.
"Human rights, press freedom, political prisoners, everything, everything, everything they want to talk about," he said, insisting only that the talks be on equal terms and without challenging Cuba's sovereignty.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today Washington welcomed "overtures" from Castro. "We are taking a very serious look at it and we will consider how we intend to respond," she said.
However, the White House this evening urged Cuba today to free political prisoners and stop "skimming money" off cash remittances sent to the island by Cuban Americans.
"There are actions that the Cuban government can take beyond wanting to have any dialogue with the American government," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One, which was taking President Barack Obama to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad.
"They're certainly free to release political prisoners, they're certainly free to stop skimming money off the top of remittance payments. They're free to institute greater freedom of the press," he said after Castro said his country was open to talks.
Asked for the Obama administration's view of Mr Castro's comments, Mr Gibbs said, "The strongest reaction that we've all had is the admission by Castro that they might well be wrong. I think we were particularly struck by that."
Cuba is said to have about 200 political prisoners, whom it considers mercenaries for the United States. It also severely limits freedom of expression, puts limits on foreign travel by its citizens and does not hold multi-party elections.
Castro has taken some steps to open up Cuba's economy since replacing his brother Fidel Castro as the leader of Cuba in 2008 after nearly five decades.
His comments follow the decision this week by President Barack Obama to lift restrictions on Cuban Americans' travel to the island and let US firms bid for telecommunications licences.
Mr Obama said yesterday there were a range of steps Cuba could take to recast relations between the two countries, which have been virtually frozen in the decades since Cuba's 1959 Revolution.
The United States still imposes an economic embargo against Cuba and prevents most of its citizens from visiting the island 90 miles from Florida's coast.
Cuba accuses Washington of imperial behaviour and frequently points out that the US record on human rights is far from perfect.
In April 1961, the United States backed an invasion by Cuban exiles who attacked the island's Bay of Pigs beach in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, only to be defeated by Cuban forces.
Cuban leaders have spoken well of Mr Obama and expressed openness to dialogue, but eschewed the idea of US-mandated preconditions on what they consider domestic issues.
Reuters