US and Cuba resume talks to normalize relations in Washington

According to AFP, US and Cuban negotiators on February 27 began a second round of talks aimed at overcoming half a century of hostility and restoring full diplomatic relations.

Cubans line up outside a US office in the capital Havana on January 9. Photo: AFP/ VNA

The two negotiating teams met at the US State Department headquarters in Washington before 9am local time (9am Hanoi time) for the second round of talks, following the first meeting in Havana, Cuba, last month that broke the ice in bilateral relations.

The talks were set up following the surprise announcement by US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014 that the two former Cold War enemies had decided to normalize relations.

Cuba has reaffirmed its willingness to narrow differences with the United States in the process of normalizing bilateral diplomatic relations. This was affirmed by Josefina Vidal, Director of the US Department of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, ahead of the second round of bilateral dialogue in Washington, DC.

Prensa Latina (PL) news agency quoted Ms. Vidal's statement on February 26 saying that the Cuban government delegation participated in this round of negotiations with a constructive spirit and tried to narrow differences with the US on bilateral issues.

Ms. Vidal expressed hope that Washington would clarify the concerns raised by Cuba during the first round of negotiations on January 22.

According to Vietnam+