New Delhi, April 10 -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told NBC News' Meet the Press that he would not step down in his first interview with a U.S. network, a portion of which was broadcast Thursday.

In a nearly five-minute clip that is part of a longer interview scheduled to air on Sunday, journalist Kristen Welker asked Diaz-Canel if he would be "willing to step down if it meant saving Cuba. "

Before answering, Diaz-Canel asked if she had ever posed that question to any other president in the world: "Is that a question from you, or is that coming from the State Department of the U.S. government?"

Diaz-Canel added: "In Cuba, the people who are in leadership position are not elected by the U.S. government, and they don't have a manda...