HAVANA, April 14 -- Cuba on Tuesday welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"The Government of Cuba recognizes the fair decision taken by the U.S. president of eliminating Cuba from a list in which it should have never been included, since our country has been the victim of hundreds of terrorist acts that have cost 3,478 lives and disabled 2,099 Cuban citizens," said an official statement signed by Josefina Vidal, director general of the U.S. Division at Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Cuban government has reiterated on multiple occasions that the island country rejects and condemns all terrorist acts in all forms and manifestations, as well as any action addressed to encourage, support, finance or hide terrorist acts, said the release, which was published on the ministry's website.

Obama on Tuesday told Congress about his intent to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, certifying in a message to Congress that the Cuban government "has not provided any support for international terrorism" over the past six months and that it has provided assurances that it will not support terrorist acts in the future.

Obama thus demonstrated his decision to remove the Caribbean island from the list of countries considered by the Department of State as sponsors of international terrorism.

The presidential move came three days after the Summit of the Americas in Panama, where Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro held talks for 80 minutes. This was the first meeting between top U.S. and Cuban leaders since 1956.

Cuba has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982 and was one of only four countries on the list -- the others are Iran, Syriaand Sudan.

In the 1990s, Washington left the island on the list for allegedly providing refuge to members of the Basque separatist group ETA and FARC guerrillas, besides welcoming fugitives from American justice, according to the U.S. Reports on Terrorism published in April 2014.

Cuba had long demanded that its name be removed from the list and insisted on that step before opening embassies and normalizing diplomatic ties with Washington as part of the process of reconciliation announced by both presidents on Dec. 17.

Removing the island from the blacklist means the end of certain economic sanctions against Havana. However, it does not mean the lifting of the economic, financial and trade embargo that has been in place since 1962.