Raúl Castro seeks to put past behind Cuba and peacefully coexist with US

Raúl Castro seeks to put past behind Cuba and peacefully coexist with US
The Cuban president wants a relationship with US 'different from our
entire common history', as both countries prepare to re-establish
diplomatic ties
Wednesday 15 July 2015 22.25 BST Last modified on Wednesday 15 July 2015
22.52 BST

Cuba is prepared to break with the contentious past and peacefully
coexist with the US, Cuban president Raúl Castro has said, as the two
former adversaries prepare to restore diplomatic ties.

"We are talking about forging a new kind of relationship between both
states, different from our entire common history," Castro, 84, told the
Cuban National Assembly, according to official media.

Cuba and the US will re-establish diplomatic relations on Monday after a
54-year break and reopen embassies in each other's capitals.

The US and Cuba began secret negotiations on restoring ties in mid-2013,
leading to the historic announcement on 17 December 2014, when Castro
and US president Barack Obama said they had swapped prisoners and would
seek to normalize relations.

The previous deep freeze in US-Cuba ties dated to 1 January 1959, when
rebels led by brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro toppled the US-backed
government of Fulgencio Batista. The Castros halted the longtime
US-friendly business climate in Cuba and drew ever closer to the Soviet
Union.

That led to a troubled history including a failed US-organized invasion
of Cuba by a force of exiles in 1961 and a thrust to the brink of
nuclear war in 1962 over Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba.

With diplomatic ties restored, the two countries separated by 90 miles
(145km) of sea will now begin the more difficult and lengthy task of
normalizing overall relations.

"The revolutionary government is willing to advance toward the
normalization of relations, convinced that both countries can cooperate
and coexist in a civilized, mutually beneficial way, while contributing
to peace, security, stability and development," Castro said.

Since taking over as president for his ailing brother in 2008, Raúl
Castro, the longtime defense minister, has proven less bellicose toward
America than his brother, now 88 and retired.

Castro said completely normal relations with the US would be impossible
as long as Washington maintains its economic embargo against the island.

"We hope that (Obama) continues to use his executive authority to
dismantle this policy," Castro said.

Obama, a Democrat, has eased parts of the US embargo but would need the
Republican-controlled Congress to lift it completely.

Castro also said normalization would require the return to Cuban
sovereignty of the US naval base at Cuba's Guantánamo Bay, although
American officials have said Guantánamo is not a topic of discussion in
talks with Cuba.

Source: Raúl Castro seeks to put past behind Cuba and peacefully coexist
with US | World news | The Guardian -
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/15/raul-castro-cuba-us-barack-obama-diplomatic-ties