Cuba confirms talks with U.S. — but warns an agreement will take time

Cuba’s government has held talks with Donald Trump‘s administration, the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, said on Friday.

It confirms speculation that the two countries were talking after U.S. President Trump renewed his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the communist-run Caribbean island was in “deep trouble.”

“These conversations have been aimed at seeking solutions, through dialogue, to bilateral differences that exist between the two nations,” Díaz-Canel said, according to a readout posted on social media by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

“There are international factors that have facilitated these exchanges,” Díaz-Canel said.

The country is facing a worsening economic crisis. The U.S. has imposed an oil blockade on the island since January, shortly after its ally and a key provider of oil, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was seized in an extraordinary military operation.

A massive blackout last week left millions on the island without power.

At a press conference on Friday, Díaz-Canel also warned that negotiations were “long processes” that require willingness and channels for dialogue, saying “All of that takes time,” according to CBS News.

Trump has recently spoken publicly about the prospect of Cuba becoming the subject of another major foreign policy move.

The U.S. president said earlier this month that after Iran’s regime is toppled, “Cuba’s going to fall, too,” according to Politico.