Moratinos (left) and Rice.

MADRID (Reuters):

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reproached Spain in a visit yesterday for engaging Cuba, and said it needed to do more in Afghanistan.

Rice is the highest-level U.S. official to come here since Spain withdrew troops from Iraq following its 2004 elections, which put a chill on relations between Washington and Madrid.

Officials on both sides had viewed her visit as a potential opportunity for fence-mending, but Rice was quick to stir controversy over Cuba.

"I do have reservations about how much can be achieved within the context of discussions with a regime (Cuba) that is not committed to (democratic) principles," Rice said at a news conference with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Moratinos defended his country's policy towards Cuba. He urged Rice to move away from isolating it and adopt Spain's approach of dealing directly with the communist island and its ailing President Fidel Castro.

"She has her reservations, as she has said. I'm sure that, after a little bit of time, she will be more convinced of the fact that the Spanish strategy brings results," he said.

Rice has criticised Spain for not paying enough attention to dissident groups in Cuba, which the U.S. supports, but Moratinos rejected this view. "Let's talk about facts. Who talks to the dissidents the most?" he said.

Cuba and its former colonial power Spain held talks on human rights in Havana this week but, in a joint statement, did not say whether they discussed 59 dissidents in Cuban prisons.

Moratinos visited Havana last April and met acting President Raul Castro, passing on a get-well note from Spain's King Juan Carlos to his brother Fidel.

Chilly relations

The top U.S. diplomat said she expected Cuba would continue to be an issue between the two nations, but she pointed to areas where they had cooperated, such as on counter-terrorism and military.