HAVANA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro offered on Saturday to negotiate with the United States to normalize their relations.

    Raul Castro, who is the younger brother of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, made the gesture while addressing a military parade in Havana to mark Fidel's 80th birthday.

    "Of course, that is, as long as they accept that we are a country that does not tolerate any reduction of its independence, and based on the principles of equality, reciprocity, non interference and mutual respect," said Raul Castro in a half-hour speech.

    "Until that happens, after almost half a century, we are prepared to wait patiently for the moment when common sense takes root in the halls of power in Washington," he added.

    Fidel, who has been ill for months, did not attend the parade, which capped five days of birthday celebrations for him. The parade was presided over by Raul and also attended by Latin American leaders and dignitaries including Bolivian President Evo Morales and Haitian President Rene Preval.

    Fidel underwent an operation for intestinal bleedings two weeks before he turned 80 on Aug. 13. As a result, his birthday celebrations were delayed.

    On July 31, Fidel Castro handed power to Raul Castro temporarily, for the first time since he became leader in the country's 1959 revolution.

    Around 300,000 workers and students participated in the military parade held in Havana's Revolution Square, which is the country's first in a decade.

    The United States has since 1962 imposed a full economic embargo on Cuba, an island state in the Caribbean.