Obama Announces Renewed Diplomatic Ties With Cuba

(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) US President Barack Obama formally announced Wednesday that the U.S. is renewing diplomatic relations with Cuba and called on Congress to lift the long-standing embargo, which dates to a time when each country considered the other an enemy.

Speaking from the Rose Garden, Obama said that Secretary of State John Kerry would travel to Havana for a flag raising. Kerry, speaking to reporters in Vienna where he is participating in international nuclear negotiations with Iran, said he would be going to Cuba later this summer.

"This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas," Obama said.

Obama said the old U.S. policy of isolating Cuba had failed and that Americans are ready for change. He called on Congress to take steps to remove the embargo on travel and trade, which was imposed in the early 1960s, The Wall Street Journal said.