TEMPO.CO, Washington - The United States and Cuba have agreed to restore diplomatic ties after being severed for more than 50 years. US President Barack Obama has called for an end to the long economic embargo against its old Cold War enemy.
"Today the US is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba. We will begin to normalize relations between our two nations. Through these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people and begin a new chapter," Obama said, as cited by Al Jazeera news agency.
Previously on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, after 18 months of secret talks, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have reached an agreement through a phone call on "a breakthrough prisoner exchange, the opening of embassies in each other's countries, and an easing of some restrictions on commerce."
Havana released a US citizen, Alan Gross, who had been jailed for five years in Cuba, and an intelligence agent who spied for the US and was held for nearly 20 years. Washington, in return, released three Cuban intelligence agents who had served 16 years in US jails for spying on Cuban exile groups in Florida.
AL JAZEERA | CHOIRUL
