1st LD: EU, Cuba sign deal to normalize ties
Xinhua, March 11, 2016 Adjust font size:
The European Union and Cuba signed an agreement on Friday to normalize relations 13 years after the unilateral suspension of ties by the EU.
The signing of the agreement meant a breakthrough just ahead of a historic visit to Cuba by U.S. President Barack Obama.
EU and Cuban officials signed the agreement in Havana during a visit by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini following nearly two years of intense negotiations between the two sides that also touched upon the thorny issue of human rights -- the one that prompted the EU to unilaterally suspend ties in 2003.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez witnessed the signing
of the agreement at a ceremony in Havana along with Mogherini.
"This is a historic day for bilateral relations," Mogherini
said.
The agreement is subject to ratification by the governments of the EU bloc and Cuba. Endi