Pelosi, Cuban foreign minister meet in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba – Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, met in Havana Wednesday, February 18, with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez to discuss the normalization of relations between the two countries.

Pelosi arrived in the country Tuesday, February 17, with 8 other Democratic members of the US Congress.

A statement in the official Cuban news site Cubadebate said the Pelosi and Rodriguez discussed recent US-Cuban talks on restoring diplomatic relations.

A second round of the talks will be held February 27 in Washington, the US State Department said Tuesday.

While in Cuba, Pelosi will also meet with Roman Catholic cardinal Jaime Ortega and community leaders.

The move to restore ties severed decades ago began December 17 with a surprise announcement by US President Barack Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro.

Washington has since taken steps to ease certain restrictions on trade and travel, while Cuba freed 53 prisoners whose release was sought by the United States.

But Castro has cautioned that relations between the two Cold War-era foes will not return to normal until the United States lifts an embargo imposed in 1962.

That will require action by the US Congress, which is dominated by Republicans, some of whom are critical of the rapprochement with the Cold War-era foe. – Rappler.com