Obama on U.S. Embassy in Cuba: ‘This Is What Change Looks Like’
*The Republican majority in Congress is not interested in normalizing relations with Cuba. There is no interest among the Congressional GOP to approve funding for the embassy (no money is needed at this time), approve an ambassador or lift the 1960 trade embargo. VL
By Halimah Abdullah, NBC News
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States and Cuba have struck a deal to open embassies in each other’s capitals and re-establish diplomatic relations for the first time in half a century.
“The progress we make today is another demonstration we don’t have to be imprisoned by the past,” Obama said.
[pullquote][tweet_dis]The Cuban government is aiming to re-open its embassy on or after July 20. The U.S. will open its embassy in Cuba “shortly after” July 20.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]Obama emphasized that the U.S. and Cuba have some shared interests, such as strong anti-terror policies and disaster response. But he acknowledged that the two nations still have “very serious differences” on issues like free speech.
“We won’t hesitate to speak out when we see contradiction to those values,” the president said.
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[Photo by Day Donaldson/Flickr]
