Cuban officials have opened talks with the government to seek solutions to the blockade imposed on the Caribbean nation, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a video broadcast early Friday on national television, as an oil blockade imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump pushes the Communist-run nation deeper into economic crisis.

"These talks have been aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences we have between the two nations," Diaz-Canel said in the video, adding he hoped negotiations would move the two long-time rivals "away from confrontation."

Diaz-Canel's remarks came ahead of a rare appearance before Cuban media and follow warnings he made on Feb. 5 that the island was approaching a situation that could require "extreme measures" due to the worsening economic crisis, frequent power blackouts and fuel shortages.

The oil blockade has taken a significant toll. No fuel has entered Cuba in three months, Diaz-Canel said during a subsequent press conference, resulting in declining diesel and fuel oil reserves that have made the country's electrical grid increasingly "unstable."

A blackout last week plunged most of the island into darkness, and outages since then have exceeded 12 hours daily across much of the capital Havana.

Cuba's citizens, already exhausted by years of economic crisis and shortages, now spend much of their days without electricity as rising prices, rationed fuel and medicine shortages strain daily life.

Since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and removed from power Cuba's most important foreign benefactor in January, Trump has cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened tariffs on any country that sells oil to the island.

Diaz-Canel said Cuba was willing to continue the talks and determine whether both sides had the will to reach an agreement.

Cuba was interested in conducting negotiations "on the basis of equality and respect for the political systems of both states, and for the sovereignty and self-determination of our governments," he said.

The talks remain in their initial stages, Diaz-Canel added. He said he was directing them for the Cuban side together with former Cuban President Raul Castro and other officials, but did not say who had participated for the United States or where the discussions had taken place.

Trump has said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was involved. The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Diaz-Canel also described Cuba's efforts to increase energy independence, saying the island had increased production of domestic crude and gas this year and was set to boost solar generation by 10% by the end of March.

Reuters contributed to this report