Cuba's government on Monday denied in an AFP interview that it was in talks with US President Donald Trump's administration on a deal to end Washington's pressure campaign on the communist island.
Deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said that while there was "communication" with Washington and the two countries had exchanged messages, "there is no dialogue specifically at this time."
Trump on Sunday claimed the United States was in talks with "the highest people in Cuba" and that he expected to "make a deal" with the country's leadership, without saying what a deal might look like.
"Cuba is a failing nation. It has been for a long time, but now it doesn't have Venezuela to prop it up," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
"So we're talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens," he said.
He made similar comments Monday to reporters at the White House.
Trump has been ratcheting up pressure on Havana since the January 3 capture by US special forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a top Cuba ally and financial backer.
Last week, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that provides oil to the island.
Pressured by Washington, Venezuela's new administration has cut crude shipments to Cuba.
Trump said Monday that Cuba's other main supplier, Mexico, would also "cease sending them oil."
A de facto oil blockade threatens to plunge Cuba into darkness, with the country's power plants already struggling to keep the lights on due to fuel shortages.
