Cuba open to greater diplomatic, trade ties with US, says minister

HAVANA: Cuba's foreign minister told a group of US senators and congressmen on late Monday that his country is open to greater diplomatic and trade ties but the congressional delegation did not meet President Raul Castro, the man who will make many of the key decisions about the new US-Cuban relationship.
The US lawmakers voiced hope that historic talks between US and Cuban officials will mark a "new era" of relations, ending decades of Cold War-era hostility.
The six-member delegation of congressional Democrats, led by Senator Patrick Leahy, met Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez as well as dissidents during their two-day visit.
Sen. Leahy had played a key role in the release of American contractor Alan Gross as part of a prisoner exchange that paved the way for the move toward full diplomatic relations. Leahy met with Castro on past trips to Cuba but did not do so again on Monday, two days before Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson arrives in Havana to negotiate the reopening of the US Embassy.
The delegation met for several hours with Foreign Minister Rodriguez, who told the legislators that Cuba welcomed President Barack Obama's loosening of the US trade embargo, which would permit more travel to Cuba and economic links including exports of telecommunications equipment and wholesale goods for use by the country's small private sector.