Rice: Cuba on brink of huge change

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said the United States and Spain had recovered from the rift over with withdrawal of Spanish troops in Iraq but that the issue over Spain's relationship with the Cuban government remained a sore spot.

"I think we have moved ahead," Rice said aboard her plane Friday en route to Madrid her first visit as Secretary of State. "There's no secret that we have had difference with Spain on a number of issues. But we have also had very good cooperation with Spain on a number of issues.'

Relations between Washington and Madrid have been frosty since Jose Zapatero beat Bush ally Jose Asnar and the newly-elected Prime Minister hastily withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq in 2004.

Things got so bad that Bush refused to take a congratulatory phone call from Zapatero after winning re-election.

Rice said the United States had problems with the way that Spain withdrew from Iraq, not the fact that it took its troops out. She noted that Spain had contributed to a children's hospital in Basra important to both her and First Lady Laura Bush.

She added that the United States and Spain were working well on issues like Kosovo, the Middle East and Afghanistan, where Spain has troops under NATO command. While she noted Madrid's contribution, she said she hoped Spain would help out more.

"I would like to see all of the allies do more in Afghanistan - and Spain is on that list, he said. "Spain has done a lot of good work in Afghanistan. I hope they will do more.".

Rice said there are "many things on which we agree," The one on which we don't is Cuba.

Spain's support for the regime of Fidel Castro continues to be a thorn in the relationship and threatened to overshadow Rice's fence-melding trip. Spain has called for more engagement with Cuba and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos visited Havana last month. But he refused to meet with Cuban dissidents.

"I expect that the issue on Cuba is going to continue to be an issue between us," she said. "There a major transition coming in Cuba. I think democratic states have an obligation to act democratically, meaning to support opposition in Cuba, not to give the regime the idea that it is just going to be transition to one dictatorship to another."

In addition to meeting with Zapatero and Martinos, Rice will also meet with King Juan Carlos, who she called a "really good friend of the united states."

Rice called the king "a historic figure in transition of authoritarianism" an evolution she said should make Spain more willing to support democratic change in Cuba.

Rice says progress is EU-Iran talks looks doubtful, but the United States remains "flexible."