Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Monday that his country is not currently holding any talks with the United States, and there are no plans to start future negotiations, in light of what he described as a “suffocating blockade,” which Havana says has caused economic losses exceeding eight billion dollars over the past year.
Rodriguez added to reporters during a press conference in Havana: “There are no negotiations or agendas, with the continued desire to remain in contact despite the lack of any progress.”
Rodriguez pointed out that losses resulting from the US trade embargo imposed on Cuba for decades jumped seven percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching $8.1 billion, according to what Reuters reported.
The Cuban Foreign Minister said that the financial losses incurred by the Cuban economy swelled in the first months of 2026, after the Donald Trump administration imposed an oil blockade on the island that almost destroyed production and caused nationwide power outages that now extend for several days.
He added: “The blockade does not punish the government, but rather it punishes every person (on the island) in every way. “This means spending long months living with electricity available for only two or three hours a day or less, spoiled food, heat that makes sleep impossible, and children doing their schoolwork in near-total darkness.”
The US State Department has not yet responded to a request from Reuters to comment on Rodriguez's statements.
The United States, which considers the Cuban government a national security concern, has said that the blockade and tougher sanctions are necessary to force the communist government to change. Washington accuses the Cuban government of restricting economic and human rights.
German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen announced on Monday that one of its factories will be converted to produce defense equipment for the Israeli Rafael Group, after car production there stops next year, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
The struggling automaker said it would sell the Osnabrück factory to the Tel Aviv-based Aurelius Capital Group, which will cooperate with the government of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen's main shareholder, to use the factory in an initial air defense project for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said: “With today’s agreement, we are taking an important step towards opening new industrial horizons for the site.”
The company, which is suffering from weak demand, had already decided in 2024 to end vehicle production at the site in northwestern Germany by 2027.
According to the Volkswagen Works Council, the deal will ensure the preservation of at least 1,200 jobs at the factory.
The future of the company's four other factories in Germany remains unclear.
The giant automobile group, which includes 10 brands that include Audi, Porsche, and Seat, faces fierce competition from Chinese companies, at a time when it is struggling to deal with the difficult transition towards electric cars.
The High Representative of the Peace Council, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Monday at the Haley Forum in Abu Dhabi that the failure to achieve progress in Gaza, coupled with the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, makes the two-state solution “impossible.”
US President Donald Trump established the Peace Council, which is charged with implementing the ceasefire plan concluded in October between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Mladenov said: “If Gaza continues as things are now, or the implementation of the plan that we have does not begin (...), the two-state solution will become practically impossible,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
He added: “Because, with everything that is happening in the West Bank, and with more than 50 percent of Gaza currently under the control of the Israeli army, and less than 50 percent under the control of (Hamas), there is no reliable path that leads to a political solution to the conflict.”
In late July, Hamas agreed to an American road map aimed at launching the second phase of the peace plan, which stipulates its disarmament and Israel’s gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
However, Israel did not agree to the plan. Netanyahu demands that Hamas be completely disarmed before any withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The West Bank has also witnessed an escalation in violence since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, following an attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
With the exception of occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed, about 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, along with more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements.
“The only way we can get back to that is to have a transitional administration, to have disarmament, and to withdraw from Gaza,” Mladenov said.
On Sunday, the American envoy and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said in a press conference in Kiev that the upcoming Israeli elections make Israeli leaders “a little lacking in logic” regarding Gaza.
Kushner added, referring to Israel: “We agree with them on the form of the final status.” “They just have a crazy election, and it makes them a little illogical in some aspects, but we are very determined and we are working to get through these things.”
He added: “You cannot enter if there are weapons,” adding: “We are now beginning to understand the extent of the militarization of Gaza. It is beyond your comprehension. Therefore, disarming it will not be easy.”
