Three men who served long US prison terms for spying have received a standing ovation in Cuba’s parliament, as President Raul Castro declared that detente with Washington will not change the communist system he leads.

Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon has called on the US government to release five Cuban men serving long prison terms on espionage conspiracy charges after a US federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences.

Five Cuban agents have been convicted in Miami of plotting espionage against the United States, and the leader of the group faces a life sentence for his role in a Cuban air force MiG attack that killed four US airmen.