US, Cuba to open embassies, boost diplomatic ties
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US President Barack Obama announced yesterday that the United States and Cuba will reopen their embassies in Havana and Washington, heralding a 鈥渘ew chapter鈥 in relations after a half-century of hostility.
The embassy agreement marks the biggest tangible step toward normalizing relations since the surprise announcement in December that the two countries were restarting diplomatic ties. The posts in Washington and Havana are scheduled to open on July 20, Cuba鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to be imprisoned by the past,鈥 Obama said at the White House.
鈥淎mericans and Cubans alike are ready to move forward.鈥
Cuban television broadcast Obama鈥檚 statement live, underscoring the new spirit.
Cuba鈥檚 President Raul Castro confirmed in a letter to Obama that Washington and Havana will reopen embassies.
鈥淚 am pleased to address this letter to you to confirm that Cuba has decided to reestablish diplomatic relations with the United States and open permanent diplomatic missions in our respective countries, on July 20, 2015,鈥 the missive said.
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Cuba for the opening of the US Embassy.
For Obama, ending the US freeze with Cuba is central to his foreign policy legacy as he nears the end of his presidency. Obama has long touted the value of direct engagement with global foes and has argued that the US economic embargo on the communist island just 145 kilometers south of Florida was ineffective.
The president yesterday reiterated his call for Congress to lift the embargo, which he said has failed to bring political change in Cuba. However, he faces stiff resistance from Republicans, as well as some Democrats, who say he is prematurely rewarding a government that engages in serious human rights abuses.
Republican Congressman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement that opening a US Embassy in Cuba 鈥渨ill do nothing to help the Cuban people and is just another trivial attempt for President Obama to go legacy shopping鈥.
The president also will face strong opposition in Congress to spending any taxpayer dollars for building or refurbishing an embassy in Havana.
The US cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, the year Obama was born, after Fidel Castro鈥檚 revolution. The US spent decades trying to either actively overthrow the Cuban government or isolate the island, including toughening the economic embargo first imposed by President Dwight D Eisenhower.
Since the late 1970s, the US and Cuba have operated diplomatic missions called interests sections in each other鈥檚 capitals.
The missions are technically under the protection of Switzerland, and do not enjoy the same status as embassies.
Ahead of Obama鈥檚 remarks, the top US diplomat in Havana delivered a letter from the White House to Cuba about restoring embassies in the countries鈥 respective capitals. US Interests Section chief Jeffrey DeLaurentis arrived at the Cuban Foreign Ministry yesterday to deliver the message.
In a highly unusual move, Cuban state television broadcast Obama鈥檚 remarks live with translation in Spanish.
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