Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, thanked the United States for announcing that Washington would abstain in the annual vote regarding the Cuban resolution on the U.S. blockade against the island.

The Cuban foreign minister pointed out that while the U.S. had said it would abstain from voting, the blockade remains in full effect and that Washington should definitively lift its economic and trade sanctions against the Caribbean state.

“The U.S. abstention constitutes a positive step in the ongoing process towards the normalization of relations between our two nations,” said the top Cuban diplomat. However, he noted that President Barack Obama has wide executive powers to do a lot more in terms of modifying the application of the blockade and pointed to the prevailing financial persecution and trade restrictions.

The Cuban foreign minister added that the U.S. congress has refused to pass any of the executive proposals to modify the application of the unfair and illegal measure.

"The U.S. blockade still is the main obstacle to Cuba's development and its lifting remains a key factor to advance towards fully normalized U.S.-Cuba relations,” said the Cuban foreign minister.