French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrived Saturday in Havana for a brief visit aimed at strengthening ties, as Cuba begins talks with the European Union on normalising relations. "This is the first time in 31 years that the head of French diplomacy is on an official trip to Cuba," Fabius told reporters as he spoke of revitalizing ties with the Americas' only communist nation.
"France wants to strengthen its ties with all of South America and, in this context, we wanted relations to be strengthened in particular with Cuba," Fabius added as he was received by his counterpart at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.