ISTANBUL 

Cuba is preparing itself for “possible military aggression” by the US, said the country's deputy foreign minister on Sunday in an interview.

"Our military is always prepared, and in fact, it is preparing these days for the possibility of (US) military aggression. We would be naive if not looking at what's happening around the world," Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said.

Expressing hope that the invasion would not happen, Cassio added that there would be no justification for it.

"Why would the government of the United States force its country to take military action against a neighboring country like Cuba?" he further questioned.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba's leadership is incapable of fixing a countrywide power outage, and needs new leaders to do so.

"Cuba has an economy that doesn't work, and a political and governmental system that can't fix it, so they have to change dramatically," Rubio told reporters at the White House.

The US and Cuba have remained adversaries for 65 years, but the Trump administration has stepped up pressure from Washington.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said last week that officials from Washington and Havana have engaged in direct talks in an effort to address their differences.