Cuban FM meets US officials on normalising ties

Havana: Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the US House of Representatives visiting the island as part of efforts to normalise ties.

According to Cuba`s foreign ministry, the two sides "discussed issues related to the current context of ties between the two countries, including restoring diplomatic relations, opening embassies and the debate in Congress on lifting the blockade against Cuba," Xinhua reported.

Cuba usually refers to the US-led trade embargo as a "blockade".

Josefina Vidal, director general for US affairs at Cuba`s foreign ministry headed the Cuban delegation to the first round of talks held in Jan and will again head the second round, scheduled Feb 27 in Washington DC.

This is the second US delegation to the island in less than a week.

Last Saturday, three Democratic senators had visited Cuba.

Washington severed ties with Havana in Jan 1961 and imposed punitive economic sanctions in an effort to topple the revolutionary government of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who retired in 2006.

In a historic joint announcement Dec 17, his younger brother and successor Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama said they had agreed to restore ties.