US not ready to lift Cuba trade embargo despite storm: Rice

The United States is not prepared to lift its trade embargo against Cuba, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today, after Havana urged Washington to ease restrictions in the wake of a devastating hurricane.

"I don't think in the context that we see now that the lifting of the embargo would be wise," Rice told reporters during a visit to Morocco.

Yesterday, Cuba's Foreign Ministry sought an easing of the decades-old embargo to allow US firms to open private lines of credit for food imports to the Caribbean island reeling from Hurricane Gustav, and as another major storm loomed.

"If the US government has the real will to cooperate with the Cuban people after the hurricane tragedy, it is requested that they suspend restrictions that block US companies from offering private commercial credit" that would allow Cuba to buy food from the US, Cuba's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The US was also urged to "permit the sale to Cuba of emergency supplies," according to the statement, which did not mention the US offer of USD 100,000 in aid made earlier this week to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington.

Gustav, a powerful Category Four hurricane, slammed into western Cuba August 30, causing major flooding and destroying or seriously damaging more than 140,000 homes and buildings.

Meanwhile another dangerous category four storm, Hurricane Ike, appears poised to slam the island of more than 11 million from the east today or tomorrow.