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A woman uses a soft drinks dispenser in Havana, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly condemned the 47-year U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, an annual ritual that serves to highlight near unanimous global opposition to America's hard-line policy toward the communist island, but which has done little to change Washington's stance, even with a new administration. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

The United Nations General Assembly voted for the 18th consecutive year to urge an end to the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, a move opposed by the Obama administration even as it eases some restrictions.

The non-binding resolution, adopted by a 187-3 vote, with two abstentions, asks the U.S. to "repeal and invalidate" the embargo. The trade ban has been in effect since 1962, three years after Fidel Castro seized control of the Caribbean island and transformed it into a bastion of communism.

Only Israel and Palau joined the U.S. in voting against the resolution.

President Barack Obama in April eased restrictions on Cuban-Americans' travel and remittances to the island and opened up the possibility of allowing U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T Inc. to provide service there. U.S. and Cuban officials met in July for the first time in six years to discuss how best to promote safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba.

"There is a new chapter to this old story," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said. "We will continue to engage the government of Cuba. We await a constructive Cuban response to our initiatives."

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that while Obama has an "historic opportunity" to improve relations between the two nations, he remains "stuck in the past" and hasn't responded to Cuba's proposed agenda for bilateral talks.

"Since the election of President Barack Obama, there has not been any change

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in the imposition of the economic, commercial and financial blockade," Rodriguez said. "It continues to be an absurd policy that causes scarcity and suffering. It is ethically unacceptable and an uncouth act of arrogance."

He listed U.S. companies barred from providing medical equipment and computer technology to Cuba, and he decried the inability of American consumers to buy Cuban rum and cigars.

Rice described Rodriguez's speech as "right out of the Cold War" and said the UN resolution failed to reflect recent positive developments in U.S.-Cuban relations.

The White House is undertaking a full review of policy toward Cuba with the goal of advancing "the cause of freedom" in the country less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the coast of Florida, Daniel Restrepo, a special assistant to Obama, said in April. Obama administration officials have said that he has no plans to scrap the embargo.

The number of Cubans visiting the U.S. from October 2008 to August 2009 increased to 16,217 from 10,661 in the same period in 2007-08, the Miami Herald reported on Oct. 5.

Legislation to end a ban on Americans traveling to Cuba has enough support in the U.S. House of Representatives to win approval by the end of the year, Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat, said last month. The bill has 181 votes in the House and needs 218 to pass, said Farr, a co-sponsor of the legislation.