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 Going into the talks, Communist-ruled Cuba pushed to be removed
from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. But Washington said
that while it was reviewing Cuba's place on the list, the
designation should not be linked to the negotiations on renewing
relations and opening embassies.
The head of Cuba's delegation to the talks, Josefina Vidal, said
afterward that removal from the list was not a pre-condition for
renewal of diplomatic ties.
But it was "a priority" for Cuba, she said, adding it would be "very
difficult to say that we have re-established relations with our
country still on a list that we believe very, very firmly that we
have never belonged to and we do not belong to.”
The talks in Washington stemmed from the historic decision announced
by the two Cold War era foes last December to work to normalize
relations, including opening embassies in each other's countries,
and to exchange prisoners.
 "We have made progress," Vidal, chief of the Cuban foreign
ministry's U.S. division, told reporters. The discussions followed a
first round of talks in Havana last month.
She said there was no date yet for the next meeting on the renewal
of ties, but the two sides were going to maintain contact and she
was optimistic there would be more advances in coming weeks on the
issue of the terrorism list.
Havana says U.S. sanctions on banks that do business with designated
countries on the list impede it from conducting diplomatic affairs
in the United States. The two countries, politically at odds since
soon after Cuba's revolution in 1959, currently have diplomats
working in each other's capitals, but they operate from what are
known as interests sections.
The United States is hoping to reach agreement on reopening
embassies in time for an April 10-11 regional summit in Panama,
where U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro
could meet for the first time since announcing their joint agreement
on Dec. 17.
The head of the U.S. delegation at the talks, U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, told reporters in reply to a
question: "I do think we can get this done in time for the Summit of
the Americas."
'COOPERATIVE SPIRIT'
Jacobson called Friday's talks "productive and encouraging," and
said they were held in "a very cooperative spirit."
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She said Cuba and the United States would hold a series of exchanges
in coming weeks on issues including increasing Cuba's Internet
connectivity. Only a tiny fraction of Cubans have access to
high-speed Internet though Cuban officials have lately promised
wider service.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said re-establishing
diplomatic relations was a technical process involving "fairly
normal" negotiations, while the terrorism sponsorship designation
was a separate process and "not a negotiation."
"It is an evaluation that is made under a very strict set of
requirements, congressionally mandated, and that has to be pursued
separately, and it is being pursued separately," he told reporters.
The Obama administration is nearing completion of its review of
Cuba's place on the list, which must be submitted to Congress before
it can be removed, a senior State Department official told reporters
on Wednesday.
Cuba was added to the terrorism sponsors list in 1982, when it aided
Marxist insurgencies during the Cold War. But it is currently aiding
a peace process with Colombia's left-wing FARC guerrillas.
Following December's announcement, the Obama administration lifted a
series of limitations on trade and travel last month and the U.S.
president, a Democrat, called for an end to the decades-old economic
embargo on Cuba. The embargo would have to be lifted by the
Republican-controlled Congress, overcoming resistance from some
members fiercely opposed to the rapprochement.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana and Warren Strobel
in Washington; Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Dan Grebler and
Ken Wills)
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