U.S. Takes Cuba off Terror List, Paving Way for Normal Ties
Last edited Fri May 29, 2015, 10:40 PM - Edit history (1)
By Indira Lakshmanan
Bloomberg News
U.S. State Department Removes Cuba From Terror List
The State Department removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a largely symbolic step clearing the way for normalizing diplomatic relations 54 years after the U.S. severed ties after Cuba’s communist revolution.
Removal from the list, announced by the department on Friday, came as a matter of course because Congress made no move to block the action within 45 days after President Barack Obama unveiled plans to do so on April 14.
“While the United States has significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions, these fall outside the criteria relevant to the rescission of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation,” Jeff Rathke, a department spokesman, said in a statement.
The two nations intend to reopen embassies in Havana and Washington once officials resolve points of contention, including U.S. demands for freedom of movement for its diplomats in the island nation and Cuba’s concerns about U.S. democracy programs that it says undermine the government in Havana.
At: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-29/u-s-takes-cuba-off-terror-list-paving-the-way-for-normal-ties
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Here's hoping the U.S. might realistically come off Cuba's State Sponsors of Terror list as well.(http://www.voltairenet.org/article132624.html)
