There will have to be "some movement" in Cuba – and a "better deal" for the United States – for any relationship between Washington and Havana, President-elect Donald Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said Sunday.
In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Priebus said Trump's position, as president, will be practical in dealing with Cuba in the wake of the death of its Communist leader Fidel Castro.
"President-elect Trump has been pretty clear that there's nothing wrong with talking to people, he's been willing to talk to anybody, but we've got to have a better deal," Priebus said in remarks posted ahead of the airing by The Hill.
"We're not going to have a unilateral deal coming from Cuba back to the United States without some changes in their government."
Priebus said policies concerning oppression, freedom of religion and political prisoners "need to change in order to have open and free relationships, and that's what President-elect Trump believes."
In his statement after Castro's death Friday, Trump said he would do what he could to ensure Cubans can "begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty."
"I do believe in order for any sort of deal to take place, President-elect Trump is going to be looking for some movement in the right direction in order to have any sort of deal with Cuba," Priebus said.
"I can assure you that he's going to require some movement or some schedule of movement in order to then schedule some kind of relationship with Cuba."
Priebus emphasized there isn't going to be a "one-way relationship" between the United States and Cuba, unless some action is taken by the Castro administration – declaring Trump will "absolutely" reverse Obama's opening to Cuba if he does not get what he wants.
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