Cuba, US to hold new round of talks on restoring ties next week

Cuba and the United States are scheduled to hold the third round of talks on restoring diplomatic ties next week, the Foreign Affairs Ministry announced Friday.

The talks will take place in Washington, D.C. Thursday and participants will continue the bilateral dialogue on "the process of reestablishing diplomatic ties and the opening of embassies," the ministry said in a statement.

Since leaders of both countries announced in December their agreement to restore bilateral ties severed more than half a century ago, the two nations have held two rounds of talks, the first on Jan. 22 in Havana, the Cuban capital, and the second on Feb. 27 in Washington. A meeting was held in Havana on March 16 as a follow-up to the initial rounds of talks.

Cuban President Raul Castro said Tuesday the two countries could "appoint ambassadors" as early as May 29, the day Cuba is officially removed from Washington's list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism. The move is considered as the first major concession the U.S. has made in trying to normalize ties with the Caribbean island nation, though Cuba has described it as more of a historical correction, since it should never have been labeled a terrorism sponsor in the first place.

Cuba has also been insisting the U.S. lift its half-a-century trade embargo imposed on the island and withdraw from Guantanamo, if it seeks to fully normalize ties with Cuba.

While announcing the upcoming talks, the U.S. State Department on Thursday highlighted the benefits of reopening an embassy in the island's capital city.

"An embassy in Havana would allow the United States to promote more effectively our interests and values and to increase the engagement with the Cuban people," said the U.S. State Department.

Cuba's Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez, in a televised interview Friday morning, acknowledged the two sides have made important progress towards "achieving" the objective of restoring ties.

He warned, however, that "more complex" issues lay ahead before "normalizing relations," including the trade embargo and return of Guantanamo, where the U.S. maintains a naval base and operates its notorious prison for suspected terrorists.