US, Cuban officials set agenda for future talks

Cuba and the United States agreed for the first time on an agenda of thorny topics to tackle that will lead to full diplomatic ties, a top Cuban diplomat said.

The two countries re-established diplomatic relations in July but issues like human rights and compensations on decades-old claims still need to be handled.

Josefina Vidal, head of the US section of the Cuban foreign ministry and of the local negotiating team, told reporters that US and Cuban delegates agreed on a list of issues to work on.

This is "the first time that we do this between Cuba and the United States, set out a serious agenda" for normalizing relations, she said.

The agenda that the negotiators hammered out covers issues such as human rights, "compensation for economic and human damages caused to the Cuban people" by the five decades old US trade embargo "and US properties nationalized in Cuba" by Fidel Castro in 1960, the Cuban delegation said in a statement.

The statement also said that lifting the US trade embargo on the island, in place since the 1960s, was "essential to normalizing bilateral relations."

Cuba is also intent on recovering Guantanamo Bay, on the southeastern tip of the island, the site of a US naval base and under US control since 1903. The base is currently home to the controversial war on terror detention camp.

The US State Department said that Friday's talks "were full and frank and extensive and conducted in a courteous and respectful manner."

The group discussed a preliminary timeline to tackle topics "including human rights, combating trafficking in persons, claims, migration, counter-narcotics, regulatory issues, environmental cooperation, civil aviation, telecommunications and the internet, and direct mail."

Both sides agreed to meet again in Washington in November.

Friday's meeting was announced August 14 during a historic visit to Havana by Secretary of State John Kerry to raise the US flag over the newly reopened embassy after a 54-year break.

The US delegation was led by Edward Lee, assistant secretary of state for western hemispheric affairs.
Source: AFP