Obama ready to discuss lifting of Cuba's blockade - Uruguay's President Mujica
The Voice of RussiaJune
At the end of last week, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica passed along a message from US President Barack Obama to Cuban leader Raul Castro, in which Obama demonstrated willingness to hold a dialogue aimed at cancelling the US embargo against Cuba, the Uruguayan newspaper Busqueda said with reference to sources in official circles.
The newspaper claims that Obama's message was passed along to Castro by President of Uruguay on the sidelines of the summit in the Group of 77 and China format, which took place at the end of last week in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. Meanwhile, the newspaper does not specify in what form this message was given - oral or written.
For his part, Castro "shows great interest" having expressed willingness for rapprochement between Havana and Washington, but only in case the US did not impose their point of view.
According to the newspaper, Mujica assessed the meeting with Castro as "fairly optimistic".
In May, Mujica visited the USA on an official visit and held talks with the US President. According to the Uruguayan newspaper, it was at this meeting that Obama reported to Mujika his readiness for closer ties with Havana.
Washington imposed sanctions against Cuba in 1961, after the failure of the operation aimed at overthrowing the government of Fidel Castro. In 1996, the US Congress adopted the "Helms – Burton Act" on additional sanctions against foreign companies trading with Cuba.