HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — A senior Cuban diplomat on Monday confirmed recent talks in Havana with United States (US) officials, as the communist-led island faces a deep crisis over President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign.

“I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the United States was recently held here in Cuba,” Alejandro Garcia, the foreign ministry’s director of Cuba-US affairs, told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

Garcia said that the negotiators included assistant secretaries from the US State Department and Cuba’s deputy foreign minister.

On Friday, the US online news outlet Axios reported that Trump administration officials had held multiple meetings in Havana on April 10 with Cuban officials, including Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of former president Raul Castro.

The US negotiators laid out several conditions for negotiations with Cuba to continue, including the release of prominent political prisoners, according to Axios, which cited a State Department official.

Garcia denied the claims on Monday.

“During the meeting, neither side set deadlines or made any threatening statements, as has been reported by the US press. The entire exchange was respectful and professional,” he said.

He emphasised that ending the US oil blockade of the island was “a top priority” for the Cuban government in the talks, which he described as “sensitive.”

The Trump administration began implementing a policy of maximum pressure on Cuba after its January 3 overthrow of Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, Cuba’s foremost backer.