Cuban Embassy Opens In Washington, But Issues Remain Unresolved

Cuba’s blue, red and white-starred flag has been raised above the country’s newly inaugurated embassy in Washington, heralding the formal restoration of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba .

The establishment of embassies in both Washington and Havana, for the first time in 54 years, marked the symbolic end to one of the last vestiges of the cold war. After more than half a century of diplomatic animosity, the world’s capitalist superpower is once again on formal speaking terms with the small, communist state to the south.

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, flew to Washington to preside over the flag-raising ceremony on Monday and met with his US counterpart, John Kerry. It was the first time a Cuban foreign minister was hosted by a secretary of state in Washington since 1958.

Appearing side by side at a State Department press conference, both diplomats expressed hope that a reset between the US and Cuba would lead to significant improvements in relations between the two countries.

Some changes are already afoot, after travel restrictions and limits on remittances to Cuba were eased. In May, President Barack Obama removed Cuba from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

But Kerry and Rodríguez both acknowledged that the rapprochement falls short of full diplomatic normalisation, and spoke at length about the hurdles that still divide both sides.

“This milestone does not signify an end to the many differences that still separate our governments,” Kerry said. “But it does reflect the reality that the cold war ended long ago and that the interests of both countries are better served by engagement than by estrangement.” He added: “Nothing is more futile than trying to live in the past.”

Rodríguez was more forceful in his remarks, stating that future progress would be contingent upon the end of the long-running trade embargo that has for decades suffocated the Cuban economy and the return of Guantánamo Bay, the US naval facility used to detain terror suspects on the Caribbean island.

“I emphasised that the total lifting of the blockade, the return of the illegally occupied territory of Guantánamo, as well as full respect for Cuban sovereignty and compensation to our people for human and economic damages, are crucial to be able to move toward the normalisation of relations,” Rodríguez said of his meeting with Kerry.

Obama has called for an end to the trade embargo and also wants to close Guantánamo Bay’s detention facility, but the White House’s ability to implement change in either area is limited. Both require the backing of the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans opposed to the thaw in relations with Cuba.

Kerry spoke in general terms about Washington’s concerns over human rights in Cuba, but his remarks, occasionally delivered in Spanish, were more conciliatory than Rodríguez’s. Kerry said Obama “could not have been more clear” about his desire to see the end of the embargo, and suggested that goal would be achieved in the years ahead.

The secretary was less clear about the future of Guantánamo Bay. “There is no discussion or intention on our part, at this moment, to alter the existing lease treaty or other arrangements with respect to the naval station,” he said. “We understand Cuba has strong feelings about it.”

The strength of Cuban passions was on display earlier in the day, during the opening ceremony for the Cuban embassy, which had all the bustle of a gathering in downtown Havana. Dozens of people, including journalists, lawmakers and diplomats, were locked outside the gates in searing heat amid large crowds.

Inside, guests sipped cocktails while their Cuban hosts played an unexpected rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

The flag was raised shortly after 10.30am by three Cuban soldiers dressed in white dress uniforms. There were shouts of “Viva Cuba socialista!” and, in a denunciation of the embargo – commonly referred to as a blockade in Havana – chants of “Cuba sí – bloqueo no.”

The Cuban embassy is housed in the same 98-year-old mansion that served as the country’s diplomatic mission before relations were severed in 1961. The building has, since 1971, been Cuba’s interests section, a diplomatic outpost run as an annex of Switzerland’s traditionally neutral embassy.

The US also operated an interests section in Havana, supervised by the Swiss, which was upgraded to full embassy status on Monday, although the change occurred with much less fanfare.

There were was no visible evidence of the change in status at the six-storey building in Havana, with diplomatic Facebook and Twitter pages offering the only clue as to the shift in identity.

Conrad Tribble, the deputy chief of mission for the US in Havana, tweeted: “Just made first phone call to State Dept Ops Center from United States Embassy Havana ever. It didn’t exist in Jan 1961.”

The US embassy will be officially inaugurated with a similar ceremony in August, when Kerry travels to Cuba – the first US secretary of state to visit the Caribbean island in more than 70 years.

The visit will complete a major foreign policy achievement for Obama, who made dialogue with America’s adversaries such as Cuba and Iran a campaign pledge during his first election in 2008,

The president was born on the same year – 1961 – that diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US were severed by then president Dwight Eisenhower in the wake of Fidel Castro’s revolutionary insurrection.

Obama has long pushed for the rapprochement with the Caribbean island and was the driving force behind months of secret talks with Havana that, with the support of Pope Francis, paved the way for the resumption of diplomatic relations.