HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Spain's Miguel Angel Moratinos became Monday the first EU foreign minister to visit Cuba since the EU imposed sanctions in 2003, hoping to breathe fresh impetus into tense relations.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (L) and his Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque, chat before a meeting with their respective delegations at the Foreign Ministry in Havana. AFP PHOTO

Moratinos held talks with Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque and was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Cuban interim president Raul Castro, who took over in July after his brother Fidel underwent gastrointestinal surgery.

"Today we start a new phase in which we will express our opinions, which do not always converge but always seek understanding, through firm, open dialogue," Moratinos said before meeting Perez Roque.

"And we also hope to discuss what the relations between the European Union and Cuba should be, given the international context," he said.

Perez Roque thanked Moratinos for the talks.

"We thank you for your willingness to have a dialogue with us," he said. "We assure you of the loyalty of Cuban interlocutors in the defense of the genuine interests of our peoples' relations."

Spain's policy on Cuba has shifted since Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero came to power in 2004, after his conservative predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, adopted a policy of isolating the Communist island.

Spain's Socialist government has since 2005 spearheaded calls to suspend EU sanctions, imposed after the Communist regime detained 75 dissidents in a crackdown. The EU must decide in June whether to extend the sanctions.

Moratinos's trip, assailed by Spain's conservative opposition, will include meetings with Cuban vice presidents Carlos Lage and Jose Ramon Fernandez and parliament president Ricardo Alarcon.

Moratinos defended his trip to Cuba.

"It is absolutely unthinkable for Spain not to maintain, defend and develop an intense, constructive and policy of dialogue with Cuban authorities," he said.

Moratinos said he hoped to witness first hand the situation in the Caribbean island "at an important moment for Cuba's future," amid uncertainty over the return of 80-year-old Fidel Castro to power.

"We are ending one stage, salving the deep wounds, which were left open as a result of the previous Spanish government," said Perez Roque.

He said Moratinos's visit was a "clear sign of correction, of a change in direction, of opening the necessary paths, clear evidence of the genuine interest of the Spanish government in dialogue with mutual respect and between equals in our governments."

"Despite the lack of shared points of view on every subject, I am sure of our ability to discuss them with respect."

The European Union "can have its own Cuba policy, not following anyone else," Perez Roque said, in an apparent allusion to the United States, which has maintained an economic embargo against the island for four decades.

It was unknown if Moratinos or any members of his delegation would meet with Cuban dissidents. Spanish media said Javier Santodomingo, the foreign ministry's director general for Latina America, would meet Wednesday with regime opponents.

The EU imposed political and diplomatic sanctions on Cuba in 2003 after the regime arrested and sentenced 75 dissidents to prison sentences of six to 28 years. Sixteen have been released due to poor health.

European diplomats in Havana are closely monitoring Moterinos's visit, watching especially for any move from the Cuban government regarding human rights.

Perez Roque invited his Spanish counterpart to visit Cuba during a meeting on March 17 in Madrid.