Cuba, US create bilateral commission to solve key issues

Cuba and the United States on Friday agreed here to create a bilateral commission to help move toward the full normalization of diplomatic ties, announced Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presided Friday's formal ceremony of raising the American flag in the recently reopened U.S. embassy in Havana, the national capital of Cuba, after 54 years of animosity between the two nations.

Prior to a press conference, Rodriguez and Kerry held official talks behind closed doors for almost an hour in the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is very close to the newly reopened U.S. embassy.

"We have decided today to establish a bilateral commission to address issues that must urgently be addressed, including those that remained without a solution for over 50 years," said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez at the press conference held at the National Hotel of Havana.

According to the Cuban official, the commission should start the first formal discussions in the next few weeks.

Rodriguez stressed the two governments have distinct positions on various issues, including national sovereignty, democracy, human rights and the interpretation of historical events.

"We are ready to discuss any of these issues while accepting that it will be difficult for us to agree on some of them," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez believed the lifting of the economic blockade was essential for Cuba to have normal relations with the U.S., as was the return of the territory currently occupied by the Guantanamo naval base. He reiterated the need to move forward on the topic of compensations to the Cuban people "for the human and economic damages produced over the last five decades."

While reiterating Cuba's desire to normalize ties with the U.S. on the basis of respect and equality, Rodriguez expressed his conviction that "beyond the differences between our governments, which will obviously not disappear, it is possible to build civilized and productive relations."