US and Cuba to hold first talks on new ties
January 8, 2015
For the first time in fifty years, a high-ranking US diplomat will travel to Cuba at the end of the month for a bilateral discussion on restoring diplomatic relations, the State Department confirmed Thursday. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Jacobson will attend the talks on January 21-22. They will focus on migration between the two countries.
The meeting is also meant to lay the groundwork for the rapprochement announced simultaneously by US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro (photo) last month.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also confirmed on Thursday that Cuba has released a number of political prisoners, part of a pledge the Caribbean island nation made to resolve decades of ideological conflict with its northern neighbor.
Though the State Department would not name the released detainees, the organization Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) announced that five political prisoners had been released in the eastern Cuban province of Santiago. They had been charged with crimes like "public disturbance" and "resistance" under the government's attempts to crush dissent.
Cuba is believed to hold about 100 political prisoners, 53 of which must be set free in order to comply with the deal to restore relations with the United States.
es/jm (AFP, dpa)