Senior US diplomat to return to Cuba for more negotiations

Senior US diplomat to return to Cuba for more negotiations
BY PETER ORSI AND MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/13/2015 7:39 PM 03/13/2015 7:39 PM

HAVANA
Cuba and the United States will hold a surprise third round of talks
about restoring full diplomatic relations and still hope to open
embassies in Washington and Havana before a key regional summit in
April, the U.S. State Department announced Friday.

The State Department said Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Roberta S. Jacobson would fly to Havana Sunday for
meetings with Josefina Vidal, Cuba's top diplomat for U.S. affairs.

In contrast with the first two rounds of diplomatic talks, which were
announced well in advance and each lasted a single day, the third round
that begins Monday has no set ending point and Jacobson could be in
Havana through the middle of the week, the State Department said.

The U.S. has said it hopes that full embassies can be opened before
April's summit of the Organization of American States in Panama, which
presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro both are expected to attend.

A senior State Department official told reporters "that's what we're
going to keep working on but we'll see whether we can get to that."

The official also said that "there won't be any announcements coming out
of the results of this trip."

Obstacles to a deal are Cuba's inability to do normal banking in the
United States and its continued inclusion on the U.S. government's list
of state sponsors of terror. The White House has ordered a review of
that designation.

The United States wants increase staff levels at its diplomatic mission
in Havana and have travel restrictions on U.S. diplomats lifted by the
Cuban government. The State Department official said both issues would
be discussed during next week's talks.

The official said the US/Cuba talks were making steady advances.

"There's been more groundwork laid, more progress made," the official said.

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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Source: Senior US diplomat to return to Cuba for more negotiations |
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