This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/americas/us-cuba-talks-on-restoring-diplomatic-ties-stall.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
U.S.-Cuba Talks on Restoring Diplomatic Ties Stall U.S. and Cuban Negotiators Can’t Quite Seal a Deal
(about 9 hours later)
MEXICO CITY — Despite a wave of optimism, United States and Cuban negotiators meeting in Washington late this week could not reach an accord on re-establishing diplomatic ties fractured five decades ago during the Cold War. WASHINGTON — Despite a wave of optimism, United States and Cuban negotiators this week failed to reach an accord on re-establishing diplomatic ties that had been fractured during the Cold War, United States and Cuban officials said on Friday.
Josefina Vidal, a Cuban negotiator, said in Washington on Friday that progress had been made. “Both delegations agreed to continue exchanges on aspects of the functioning of diplomatic missions,” she said. But Roberta Jacobson, the top State Department official for Latin America, asserted that the two days of talks here had been “highly productive” and that the remaining differences could be resolved without another high-level negotiating session.
Representatives from both nations met at the State Department on Thursday and Friday, but emerged without a deal and only a promise to continue talking. “I don’t know that we will need another round,” she told reporters. “I think at this point this is likely to be the kind of thing that can be hammered out using our diplomatic missions.”
In recent days, diplomats on both sides said they believed an agreement was near, while noting they still had certain issues to resolve. Both sides declined to describe the remaining obstacles. But the United States has insisted on its diplomats having the freedom to travel and to speak openly to people, which Cuba often regards as a means to stir up dissidents. The Americans have wanted guarantees that Cubans visiting the embassy would not be harassed by police officers guarding it.
On Friday, Ms. Vidal, who is Cuba’s director of North American affairs, declined to say what was hanging up the talks but said future discussions would focus on the “functioning of the embassies.” The United States has insisted on its diplomats having freedom to travel and to speak openly to people, which Cuba often regards as a means to stir up dissidents. Even so, Ms. Jacobson acknowledged in congressional testimony earlier this week that if a United States embassy is opened in Havana, American diplomats would most likely be required to provide advance notification of their travel within the country, as they do with other nations that are controlled by authoritarian governments. That was a point she hinted at again on Friday.
“We exchanged views on every aspect related to the functioning of the embassies and the behavior of diplomats,” she said. “I won’t mention in detail the positions we took and discussed because these are being discussed at diplomatic levels.” “There are a range of ways in which our embassies operate around the world in different countries,” she said. “We expect that in Cuba, our embassy will operate within that range. It won’t be unique. It won’t be anything that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world.”
The Americans also wanted guarantees that Cubans visiting the embassy would not be harassed by police officers guarding it. The Cuba government has objected to journalist training programs conducted by the United States interest section in Havana. Asked if the United States would be willing to coordinate those courses with the Cuban government, Ms. Jacobson said she could not discuss the details.
Cuba had been slow to agree to full diplomatic relations until it found a bank willing to handle its accounts at a diplomatic mission in the United States and until it was removed from the American government’s list of states that sponsor international terrorism. This week, American officials said Cuba had found a bank and next week it officially comes off the list. President Obama issued that order last month, but there was a 45-day review period before it could take effect. Josefina Vidal, who serves as Cuba’s director of North American affairs, said in a separate news conference that the talks had been “respectful and professional,” but she was similarly reticent about the details.
The latest round of talks took place five months after the United States and Cuba agreed to restore full diplomatic relations ruptured five decades ago in the Cold War. Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba have publicly said they want embassies, but working out the details has taken some time. “We exchanged views on every aspect related to the functioning of the embassies and the behavior of diplomats,” she said.
The United States, growing ever more concerned about a Communist beachhead 90 miles from its shores, broke relations with Cuba on Jan. 3, 1961, after Fidel Castro ordered a drastic reduction in the staff of the American Embassy, which he considered a spy outpost aimed at toppling him. Cuba had been slow to agree to full diplomatic relations until it found a bank willing to handle its accounts at a diplomatic mission in the United States and until it was removed from the American government’s list of states that sponsor international terrorism. This week, American officials said Cuba had found a bank, and next week it officially comes off the list. President Obama issued that order last month, but there was a 45-day review period before it could take effect.