Interview: Cuba "under no illusions" regarding U.S. ties: Cuban expert

Cuba is taking a cautious and realistic approach to its renewed diplomatic ties with the United States, though the two on Monday reopened their respective embassies in each other's capital after more than 50 years of confrontation and animosity.

Esteban Morales, a Cuban writer, political observer and economist, believed that "Cuba is under no illusions regarding ... what is described as normal relations with the United States."

Reopening embassies will, for the moment, simply make it easier for the two once-alienated governments to communicate formally after five decades of hostility, said Morales, founder and honorary director of the University of Havana's Center for Hemispheric and U.S. Studies.

Washington "frequently flouts the rules," he warned, saying the history of the U.S.-Cuba ties is full of instances of the U.S. "disrespecting the norms of diplomacy."

In the absence of diplomatic ties, the two countries maintained so-called Interests Sections, which the United States used to distribute propaganda and recruit disaffected Cubans to take part in covert anti-government schemes, said Morales.

While the bilateral talks leading to restoring the ties have been marked by mutual respect, and the diplomatic agreements taking shape are in keeping with the Vienna Convention, an international agreement standardizing the conduct of diplomatic missions, said Morales, adding it is not enough.

"They should discuss relations as if between neighbors who respect their mutual sovereignty and independence," he said, especially since a much more complex and lengthy process lies ahead as the two work to normalize their ties.

The United States, he said, is not used to negotiating with anybody on the basis of respect for sovereignty and equality, "but there are reasons why it should."

Washington "is interested in repairing its ties with Cuba because it has a complicated hemisphere, which is making progress through new organizations and new policies that don't involve the United States," said Morales.

The current rapprochement between the former foes is a unique opportunity, especially for Cuba to negotiate normalized ties with Washington.

But that goal, he said, will not be possible as long as the U.S.-led trade embargo against Cuba remains in force, and the U.S. side refuses to withdraw from the Guantanamo Naval Base it has maintained on the island, both demands the Cuban government has repeatedly made.

According to the White House, only Congress can lift the embargo, though Cuba claims the White House can use presidential prerogatives to significantly ease the slew of economic, financial and trade sanctions that cripple the Cuban economy.

The United States should take steps to compensate Cuba for the economic losses caused by the embargo over the past 50 years, said Morales.

In addition to those obstacles, he said, the U.S. immigration policy, such as the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which encourages defections, presents another barrier to normal relations.

"There are a series of obstacles and difficulties, but I hope, based on the political will and determination shown by both sides, that these relations can proceed properly," said Morales. Endi