The United States said that it has no intentions of returning the Guantanamo Bay naval base to the Cuban government.
Cuban President Raul Castro suggested during a speech on Wednesday that U.S.-Cuban relations cannot be normalized until the U.S. ends the embargo and closes the Guantanamo base, returning the land to Cuba, reported BBC.
"The re-establishment of diplomatic relations is the start of a process of normalizing bilateral relations," Castro said.
"But this will not be possible while the blockade still exists, while they don't give back the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo naval base," BBC reported.
The two countries agreed in December 2014 to begin normalizing full diplomatic relations, and lifted some restrictions on trade and travel, however the embargo largely still remains.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest responded on Thursday to Castro's statement, saying that President Barack Obama is indeed seeking to close the Guantanamo Bay prison because it "only serves as a recruiting tool for al-Qaida and other extremist organization."
However, Earnest added, the naval base itself "is not something that we believe should be closed."
The land on which the Guantanamo base sits was leased to the U.S. by Cuba in 1903. The lease stipulates that the U.S. will "exercise complete jurisdiction and control over" the area while at the same time recognizing "the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba."
As for completely ending the embargo, the U.S. Congress is ultimately be the deciding factor. Obama said in December that he will engage lawmakers "in an honest and serious debate" to fully remove the embargo, reported Bloomberg.
