The Cuban government says it is prepared to negotiate with Washington to find a solution in the case of the detained US contractor, Alan Gross.
Mr Gross is serving a 15-year prison sentence for taking internet equipment to Cuba.
Senior Cuban diplomat Josefina Vidal said in a statement that Cuba was willing to talk to the US and was awaiting an answer.
The case of Mr Gross is seen as a major obstacle to better US-Cuban relations.
In a short statement sent to the Associated Press news agency and published on the Cuban Foreign Ministry's web page, Miss. Vidal also rejected allegations by Alan Gross's wife that her husband's health was deteriorating.
Alan Gross was detained in December 2009 while delivering computers and communications equipment to the Jewish community in Cuba.
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