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U.S. elections give Cuba-U.S. tie-building sense of urgency

Xinhua, January 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

The road to improved Cuba-U.S. ties presents challenges, because the two nations are "constructing a new type of relationship," Josefina Vidal, the Cuban Foreign Ministry's head of U.S. affairs, said in an interview published Tuesday.

But while building a relationship from the ground up requires time, Vidal indicated that upcoming elections in the United States give the process a sense of urgency.

In an in-depth question-and-answer session, Vidal tells the Cuban News Agency (ACN) she continues to be optimistic the two former ideological foes can forge ahead in 2016 towards better ties, despite coming political changes.

"I'm still working with a high dose of optimism, but some degree of realism is beginning to weigh on me, because elections are coming up in the United States and we don't know what's going to happen," said Vidal.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who spearheaded his country's rapprochement with Cuba, concludes his second term in 2016. Republicans currently campaigning to succeed him in November elections have been outspoken in criticizing the decision to restore ties with the socialist nation.

Asked whether the process of normalizing ties can be reversed, Vidal said "some aspects are irreversible," such as resuming diplomatic ties and reopening embassies, advances made in 2015.

However, "there are other issues that can change, like cooperation in different areas," she said, adding an incoming president could also undo certain decisions "by executive order or through inaction."

"As long as Obama takes quick steps in the economic-commercial sphere, he will be ensuring, if not completely, the irreversibility (of those actions), because business is an essential part of the U.S. system," said Vidal.

"There are variables beyond our control, but we will continue, with the conviction that Cuba and the United States have no other destiny than respectful coexistence," said Vidal. "Life has shown that confrontation does not benefit anyone."

Washington severed ties with Cuba in 1961. Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17, 2014, they had agreed to work to normalize ties. Diplomatic ties were formally restored on July 20, 2015. Enditem