WASHINGTON—The U.S. and Cuba have reached an agreement to
restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in each other's
capitals, a senior Obama administration official said Tuesday, the
biggest step yet toward ending a half century of animosity between
the two countries.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday will announce the U.S. plan
to reopen its embassy in Havana, the official said. Secretary of
State John Kerry also was to address the move to convert the U.S.
diplomatic post there into a full-fledged embassy.
Officials at the Cuban Interest Section in Washington didn't
respond to a request for comment.
Cuba was formally removed from Washington's list of sponsors of
state terrorism in late May, a critical step toward restoring
diplomatic ties.
U.S. and Cuban leaders had announced in December they'd move to
normalize relations. They held four rounds of talks to re-establish
diplomatic ties, with the last meeting in Washington in May.
Obama administration officials see the re-establishment of
diplomatic ties as the first step in a longer normalization
process. Congress would need to act to fully remove an embargo on
trade and travel, though Mr. Obama took steps to loosen
restrictions in December.
The State Department must formally notify Congress of its intent
to reopen the embassy in Havana. Congress then has 15 days to
review the notification before the U.S. can go ahead and formally
do so.
U.S. officials have said that the formal announcement of the
reopening of the embassy and the notice to Congress would come
together.
Ted Piccone, a Cuba expert at the Brookings Institution, said
Wednesday's expected announcement is the most concrete development
yet to come out of the policy shift. While Mr. Obama has taken
several unilateral steps to advance warmer ties, including lifting
Cuba from the terrorism list, the latest move would be the product
of bilateral conversation.
"It's a big milestone," Mr. Piccone said. "This is the first
thing we've seen since the Dec. 17 agreement that says, 'We're
jointly agreeing to this step.'"
The historic step would be a major victory for Mr. Obama, who
has supported renewed relations with Cuba since his 2008
presidential campaign and made it a core component of his
second-term foreign policy agenda.
Mr. Obama met in April with Cuban President Raú l Castro at the
Summit of the Americas.
"It seems to be going pretty well according to the script," said
Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert and senior fellow at the Lyndon B.
Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at
Austin.
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