CUBAN President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned he would not make any concessions and would only speak to his United States counterpart Donald Trump as an equal during a television interview on Sunday night.

He was speaking as relations between Cuba and the US have rapidly deteriorated, with the Trump administration accusing Havana of launching “sonic attacks” against its diplomats.

Mr Diaz denied the allegations and said: “Cuba does not attack. Cuba defends, Cuba shares.”

The Cuban leader insisted he was open to talks with the US but was not prepared to accept impositions or make concessions.

“We still maintain channels of dialogue and our position is that we do not reject the possibility of dialogue at any time, but it must be between equals,” he said.

Talks were held with the Obama administration which saw some of the restrictions on US citizens travelling to Cuba relaxed and a thawing of relations between the two countries.

However Mr Trump blasted the “completely one-sided deal with Cuba” and tightened many of the travel rules.

Earlier this year a United Nations report concluded that the “unjust” US economic blockade had cost the Cuban economy $130 billion over six decades.

Mr Diaz said its imposition remains “the main obstacle to the development of our country.

“It's a brutal practice, I would say that it is an inhumane practice against a people condemned to die of hunger or to die of want.”

The Cuban leader assumed office in April, taking over from Raul Castro, who remains head of the Communist Party. Mr Diaz refers to the revolutionary as “like a father” to him.

He insisted that the removal of the word communism from a new draft constitution currently being debated across the country does not mean a change in Cuba’s direction, with the document referring to socialism.

Cuba’s policies were developed “for the people by the people” to build “a government for the revolution,” Mr Diaz claimed.

Mr Diaz said he supported “same-sex marriage” in Cuba, recognising “marriage between people without any restrictions".

The fight for LGBT rights in Cuba has been led by head of the Cuban National Centre for Sex Education Mariela Castro, the daughter of Mr Castro.

The new proposed constitution will replace the 1976 charter and the final draft will be voted on in a national referendum in February 2019.