Cuban leader Castro says “willing to talk to U.S.”July 26, 2012 - 19:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Cuban President Raul Castro has made a seemingly impromptu address at a Revolution Day ceremony and said he is willing to hold talks with the U.S., BBC News said. President Castro, who had not spoken at the event for two years, grabbed the microphone to address the crowd in the eastern province of Guantanamo. He said he would hold talks with the U.S., as long as it was "a conversation between equals". The two countries have not had diplomatic relations for five decades. President Castro said the offer had already been made through diplomatic channels and that no topic was off limits. "Any day they want, the table is set", Mr Castro said. He said he was prepared to discuss "the problems of democracy, human rights etc. But on equal terms because we are no-one's colony." If the U.S. wanted confrontation, he quipped, then it should be in baseball or some other sport. "Preferably baseball when sometimes they win, sometimes we do," he said. Turning to internal matters, he said that social and economic reforms within Cuba would go on "little by little". The annual ceremony marks the 59th anniversary of the failed storming of the Moncada military barracks, often considered the beginning of the revolution led by his brother Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro frequently used Revolution Day addresses to make major policy announcements. This year's main celebration began at dawn with music and speeches. First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura said in a keynote address that Havana would continue efforts to shut down the U.S. naval base there. "We will continue to fight such a flagrant violation... we will never stop trying to recover that piece of ground," he said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. |