Raul Castro: US must return Guantanamo for normal relations
Updated: 2015-01-29 10:17
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||
SAN JOSE - Cuban President Raul Castro demanded on Wednesday that the United States return the US base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the half-century trade embargo on Cuba and compensate his country for damages before the two nations re-establish normal relations.
Castro told a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that Cuba and the US are working toward full diplomatic relations but "if these problems aren't resolved, this diplomatic rapprochement wouldn't make any sense."
Castro and US President Barack Obama announced on Dec. 17 that they would move toward renewing full diplomatic relations by reopening embassies in each other's countries. The two governments held negotiations in Havana last week to discuss both the reopening of embassies and the broader agenda of re-establishing normal relations.
Obama has loosened the trade embargo with a range of measures designed to increase economic ties with Cuba and increase the number of Cubans who don't depend on the communist state for their livelihoods.
The Obama administration says removing barriers to US travel, remittances and exports to Cuba is a tactical change that supports the United States' unaltered goal of reforming Cuba's single-party political system and centrally planned economy.
Cuba has said it welcomes the measures but has no intention of changing its system. Without establishing specific conditions, Castro's government has increasingly linked the negotiations with the US to a set of longstanding demands that include an end to US support for Cuban dissidents and Cuba's removal from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
On Wednesday, Castro emphasized an even broader list of Cuban demands, saying that while diplomatic ties may be re-established, normal relations with the US depend on a series of concessions that appear highly unlikely in the near future.
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Premier Li attends Davos Forum |
Li Na expecting first baby |
Star's marriage is 'bittersweet' news for fans |
Infographic:Chinese IPOs in the US in 2014 |
Tale of two cities |
China's 2014 diplomacy |
Today's Top News
China's train makers to court investors on road show
US, China expected to lead on climate talks
Weighing in on justice in China
China wants US to help build trust on maritime disputes
Yahoo to spin off Alibaba shares
China opens market to all US apples
Parade will commemorate victory over Fascism
Expatriates to be lured for startups
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |