US, Cuba 'much closer' to opening embassies

Washington, May 23: The US and Cuba ended on Friday their fourth round of negotiations to restore diplomatic relations, with the message that the opening of embassies is now "much closer" and that the last obstacles will be overcome in the coming weeks, though not necessarily with another high-profile gathering. The meeting that began on Thursday in Washington could be the last encounter of the respective chief negotiators before the reestablishment of diplomatic ties broken off more than half a century ago, judging by the words of US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson. "We made progress today, but we still have things...that we have to come to agreement on. Obviously, we do have interests sections in each other's countries and can have communications without face-to-face meetings," Jacobson told a press conference after the meetings. Jacobson said the negotiations have made "significant progress in the last five months and are much closer to re-establishing relations and reopening embassies". This round of talks was "highly productive," the US official said.