The desire to develop respectful and strong relations is the center of talks by Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, who concluded his official visit to the island Tuesday.

Lage welcomed Moratinos and other members of his group at the Cuban Council of Ministers, when the Spanish emissary reiterated Madrid's willingness to rebuild bilateral ties on the basis of respect of Cuban sovereignty.

The foreign minister, who arrived in Havana Sunday, met with the island's counterpart Felipe Perez Roque and Vice President Jose Ramon Fernandez, encounters he termed as intense and productive.

"We have had a fruitful working meeting with my great friend Foreign Minister Perez Roque, and recently had a very intensive and productive lunch with Fernandez," said Moratinos on Monday shortly before talking with Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon.

Today's agenda includes visiting sites of historic and cultural interest in the Old Havana and the Latin American School of Medicine, west of the capital, where over 10,000 youth from 20 nations study freely.

During official talks with Perez Roque, he stated that this visit starts a new stage in relations between Havana and Madrid.

These will broaden bilateral cooperation and get closer with other European Union nations, always respecting the island's internal affairs.(

Source: Radio Cadena Agramonte