Barack Obama: Cuba is not a threat

US President Barack Obama, during a joint press conference with Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana, said that the US does not view Cuba as a threat.

“I told President Castro that we are moving forward and not looking back, we do not see Cuba as a threat to the United States,” Obama was quoted by The Guardian.

During the speech, Castro called on the United States to completely lift the economic blockade, calling it "the most important obstacle" to Cuba's economic development. He also repeated the demand to return to Cuba the "illegally occupied" base in Guantanamo Bay.

Obama said the trade embargo would be lifted, but noted that the decision was up to the US Congress.

One of the main factors that could influence this decision, he called the improvement of the human rights situation in Cuba. Castro said that no country in the world fully meets the requirements in this area, and noted that human rights such as free healthcare and education are respected in Cuba.

Answering a question from a CNN reporter about political prisoners in Cuba, Castro said that if a journalist gives him a list of political prisoners, "they will be free until sunset." “It’s wrong to ask me about political prisoners in general, give me a name,” Castro said.

• Barack Obama's visit was the first official visit by a sitting US president to Cuba in 88 years.
• The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 during the Cold War with the USSR after the US military attempted to help overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro.
• In December 2014, the countries began to build relationships. Sanctions were partially lifted from Cuba, the country was excluded from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, diplomatic relations were resumed in the summer of 2015, and then regular flights were established.