"Cuba is willing to normalize diplomatic relations but t he main problem has not been resolved: the economic, commercial and financial blockade, which causes huge human and economic damage and is a violation of international rights," Castro said at a Latin American summit in Costa Rica on Wednesday.

He also stressed that he would not let Washington interfere in Cuba's internal affairs.

Castro suggested that Obama extend measures similar to those the US announced for the telecom industry to the rest of Cuba’s economy, but added that he knows that ending the embargo, the most enduring one in modern history, will be a “long and hard road.”