US and Cuba to meet about reopening embassies

Five months after the respective presidents announced they would restore diplomatic ties, latest negotiations will discuss the reopening of each embassies.

The United States and Cuba will hold a meeting in Washington on May 21, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

The meeting will focus on practical measures needed to reopen embassies in Havana and Washington, an official explained.

The announcement follows President Barack Obama’s decision on April 14 to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a condition imposed by Cuba before agreeing to reopen embassies.

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 they would work to restore diplomatic ties, after half-of-century without diplomatic relations that saw economic sanctions imposed by the United States after the taking of power of the Cuban Revolution in 1961.

(Bruno Rodriguez, Cuban Foreign Minister / See video here)