A defiant Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said he won’t step down as Cuba’s president if pressured by U.S. officials during talks between the two countries.
His remarks were broadcast on April 9 during an interview in Havana with NBC's Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker.
Pressed by Welker whether he would consider stepping down if the U.S. insisted, Díaz-Canel leaned forward in his seat.
“Would you ask that question of Trump?” he said, adding, “in Cuba, the people who are in leadership positions are not elected by the U.S. government. They don’t have a mandate by the U.S. government.”
Díaz-Canel’s comments come in the wake of news that U.S. and Cuban officials have met to discuss future relations between the two longtime Cold War foes. Trump officials have said the initial talk focused on expanding economic ties between the U.S. and Cuba.
When reports of the meeting first surfaced, Rubio stressed that the "status quo" in Cuba is unacceptable but cautioned that change on the island could take time. "It doesn’t have to change all at once," he said. "It doesn’t have to change from one day to the next … But Cuba needs to change. It needs to change dramatically.”
He later hardened his view to say that Cuba can only change if it has new leadership.
“The bottom line is, their economy doesn’t work. It’s a non-functional economy,” Rubio said last month during a White House meeting. “They’re in a lot of trouble, and the people in charge, they don’t know how to fix it, so they have to get new people in charge.”
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Officers at Jacmel, Haiti, during the U.S. occupation in 1915.
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Children cheer on the U.S. Marines following offensive in Vecca Monte west of Panama City, during "Operation Just Cause," the U.S. invasion to remove Manuel Noriega, which lasted from December 1989 through January 1990.
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A U.S. Marine corps crew takes up position on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, on May 2, 1965, during the Dominican Civil War.
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The U.S. Army Airborne troops drive down a street in Santo Domingo during the occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1965.
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U.S. troops in full combat gear run on the docks of Port-au-Prince harbor, on Sept. 19, 1994, after arriving on an assault helicopter. Thousands of U.S. soldiers arrived in Haiti on Sept. 19, 1994, as part of "Operation Uphold Democracy," to pave the way for the restoration of the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
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Hundreds of local residents run towards the U.S. Chinook helicopters, on Sept. 24, 1994, as a detachment of over 100 U.S. troops arrive in this small southern coastal town, 120 km south of Port-au-Prince, as part of the "Operation Uphold Democracy."
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This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.
More:EXCLUSIVE: Cuba pitches US economic roadmap as Trump pressures Havana
Trump has signaled he wants Cuba to "make a deal," and he is prepared to use Washington's leverage on Cuba, saying of the country that it may face "a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover."
Díaz-Canel was handpicked by Cuba’s former leader Raúl Castro − the brother of Fidel Castro, who led the 1959 revolution that toppled the Cuban government − as his successor, and is known to firmly adhere to the country’s communist principles.
The U.S.-Cuba talks come as the U.S. has imposed a virtual oil embargo on the island nation, choking off the oil that once arrived from Venezuela and plunging Cuba into an energy crisis. Prolonged blackouts have draped the island and hospitals struggle with providing adequate care.
More:Cubastroika: Inside Trump plan to save Cuba's economy and win control
In the interview, Díaz-Canel signaled he welcomed talks with the U.S. but remained defiant against any conditions.
“We’re interested in engaging in dialogue and discuss any topic without any condition,” he said, “not demanding changes from our political system, just as we’re not demanding changes from the American system.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Cuba’s president rejects US pressure to step aside in