Cuba is prepared to hold talks with the United States, but not under pressure, President Miguel Diaz-Canel insisted Thursday after months of threats from President Donald Trump.
"Cuba is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States, a dialogue on any topic ... but without pressure or preconditions," Diaz-Canel said in an address to the nation aired on state TV and radio.
He said any talks must take place "from a position of equals, with respect for our sovereignty, our independence, and our self-determination" and without "interference in our internal affairs."
Trump has repeatedly threatened communist-run Cuba in recent months, vowing to cut off its access to oil and stating that the island was "ready to fall."
Cuba, in the grips of an economic crisis, had long relied on oil imported from Venezuela, whose leader was ousted last month in a deadly U.S. military operation.
Trump subsequently said he had taken control of Venezuelan oil, vowed to starve Cuba of the commodity, and threatened tariffs on any other nation stepping in to help Washington-sanctioned Havana.
The pressure tactics threaten to plunge Cuba into complete darkness as its power plants struggle to keep the lights on due to fuel shortages.
Earlier Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people in the country's east were left without electricity for hours after a power grid failure.
Diaz-Canel insisted his country still had friends, which he did not name, as it confronts what he described as an "acute fuel shortage."
"We cannot openly explain everything we are doing," he said, but "Cuba is not alone."
He said energy production from diesel- and oil-powered generators has been "zero" for weeks.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that while her country was using all available diplomatic channels to ensure resumption of oil shipments to Cuba, it would not put itself at risk of punitive U.S. tariffs.
Diaz-Canel said the pressure that Cuba found itself under highlighted the importance of its drive for greener energy and reducing reliance on others.
Cuban officials blame U.S. sanctions for Cuba's worst economic crisis in decades, marked by shortages of fuel, food, and medicine.
But observers say poor economic management and a tourism collapse after the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the island's woes.
Trump has repeatedly said that Washington was in talks for "a deal" with Havana, which has denied any formal negotiations were underway.
Trump has not revealed the details of the agreement he has proposed.