U.S., Cuba to hold meeting on reopening embassies

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States and Cuba will hold another meeting in the coming weeks in Washington on reopening embassies, the latest step in their historic rapprochement, Havana's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said, according to AFP.

"In the coming weeks, there will be a new round of negotiations in Washington on reestablishing diplomatic relations and opening embassies," he told AFP in an interview.

The exact date has not yet been set, he said.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks since the landmark announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro on December 17 that the former Cold War foes would restore full diplomatic ties severed in 1961.

The negotiations are being led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson and Cuba's top diplomat for U.S. affairs, Josefina Vidal.

In Washington, a State Department official said "we expect to meet next week," adding no date has yet been set.

Rodriguez, according to AFP, said the talks had made "considerable" progress on the issue of allowing the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington to open a bank account, which it has not been able to do because of the trade and financial embargo the U.S. has imposed on the communist island since 1962.

The last talks between the two sides took place on March 16 in Havana. It was followed in April by a highly symbolic meeting between Obama and Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama.

Obama then notified Congress of his intention to take Cuba off the black list of state sponsors of terrorism, a key sticking point in the negotiations.

Removal from the black list will enable Cuba to access badly needed financing from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

On Monday the United States left open the possibility that Obama might visit Cuba next year.

Castro said Tuesday the talks were "going well," and that the countries could exchange ambassadors once Cuba is removed from the black list.

That is set to take place after May 29, the expiration date of a 45-day period for Congress to oppose the move.