Cuba, U.S. to discuss further steps torward normalization of ties

A Cuba-U.S. bilateral commission will meet Tuesday in Washington to discuss further steps toward the normalization of relations between the two countries, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

At the meeting, the two parties will review the topics agreed at the first meeting of the commission on Sept. 11 in Havana, the results of the past few months of detente, and other pending issues between the two countries, including the lifting of the decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba, a statement from the ministry said.

"The bilateral commission will define new steps that both sides will take in coming months, such as possible agreements, technical meetings in areas of common interest ... and high-level visits, as part of the process toward the normalization of relations," the statement said.

The U.S. delegation will be led by Alex Lee, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western hemisphere affairs, while the Cuban envoys are to be headed by Josefina Vidal, director general of the U.S. division at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

The creation of the bilateral commission was announced on Aug. 14 in Havana, during a visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who re-opened the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations in July, after half a century of political antagonism. However, before ties are fully normalized, Havana is demanding the end of the blockade, the return of the territory occupied by the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, and compensation for the damage caused by decades of economic sanctions. Endi