U.S., Cuba set agenda on improving relations

U.S., Cuba set agenda on improving relations
HAVANA | BY DANIEL TROTTA

Cuba and the United States on Friday set an agenda for improving
relations, putting a priority on more easily attainable agreements while
leaving aside difficult issues such as the U.S. trade embargo and naval
base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba said.

Officials from both countries met in Havana for the first time since the
two former Cold War enemies re-established diplomatic relations in July
following a 54-year break and reopened embassies in each other's
capitals in July and August.

With diplomatic ties restored, the two sides are going to work on
normalizing overall relations. President Barack Obama is attempting to
advance normalization as much as possible before his second and final
term ends in January 2017.

The two sides put a priority on environmental protection, natural
disaster response, health, civil aviation and law enforcement issues
such as drug trafficking, Cuban officials said.

A second, more difficult block of issues included human rights,
people-trafficking, climate change and epidemics, Cuba said.

A third, longer-term agenda included U.S. claims over properties
nationalized in Cuba after the 1959 revolution and Cuba's claims for
more than $300 billion in economic damages from the United States for
the embargo and for what it says are other acts of aggression."We have
set an agenda of things both countries can start working on immediately
with the idea of offering results," Josefina Vidal, the Cuban Foreign
Ministry's chief of U.S. affairs and leader of the Cuban delegation in
the talks, told reporters.

Cuba reiterated its opposition to the comprehensive U.S. economic
embargo, the U.S. occupation of Guantanamo and anti-communist radio and
television broadcasts beamed into Cuba, but did not seek to place them
on the agenda because they were measures unilaterally imposed by the
United States.

"There's nothing Cuban can do about that," Vidal said.

Obama supports ending economic sanctions on Cuba, a foreign policy
pillar of 10 previous presidents, but only Congress can lift the embargo
completely. So far the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill has blocked
legislation to do.

On the other hand, the Obama administration has supported the radio and
TV broadcasts into Cuba and said repeatedly that Guantanamo was not up
for discussion with the Cubans.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: U.S., Cuba set agenda on improving relations | Reuters -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/12/us-cuba-usa-idUSKCN0RC00620150912