Cuba says talks with US should not be rushed

2 nations claim billions in property, financial damages

Cuba said on Monday it was not willing to rush talks with the United States over multibillion-dollar claims and counterclaims and would agree only to an accord that addressed the grievances of both sides.

Washington is seeking upward of $10 billion, mainly for properties nationalized in Communist-run Cuba after its 1959 revolution. Havana, meanwhile, wants at least $300 billion for economic damage wrought by the US trade embargo and for the harm caused by acts of what it describes as US aggression.