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Strong consensus in U.S. Congress for lifting blockade against Cuba: Pelosi

Xinhua, February 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

In the U.S. Congress there is a strong bipartisan support for lifting the blockade against Cuba and excluding it from the State Department's list of "countries sponsoring terrorism," U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said here Thursday.

Pelosi, who was visiting the Caribbean country together with eight other Democratic lawmakers, noted that Cuba and the United States "are living a historical moment" after announcements by President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Dec. 17 about the decision to normalize bilateral ties, severed since January 1961.

"This is a huge step forward: we are promoting a new relationship because we have many things to share, with benefits for both sides," she told reporters.

The U.S. delegation on Thursday met with Cuba's First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed topics such as the reform program undertaken by the Castro administration in a bid to upgrade Cuba's national economy, and the U.S. Congressional debate on lifting economic sanctions imposed on Havana since 1962, according to an official release.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. delegation met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the highest-ranking religious leader in the country.

After arriving in the Caribbean country on Tuesday, the delegation also met representatives of the Cuban parliament, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, and Josefina Vidal, Cuba's chief negotiator for the normalization of ties.

This is the second group of U.S. legislators visiting Havana within a week. Their arrival coincided with the departure of three Democratic Senators, Claire McCaskill, Amy Klobuchar and Mark Warner, who stressed their position in favor of ceasing the economic siege on Cuba.

The United States and Cuba agreed to restore diplomatic relations after more than five decades of hostility. The two sides had their first round of talks on normalizing their relations on Jan. 21-22 in Havana, and a second round is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Washington. Endi