The European Union and Cuba have agreed to speed up negotiations to normalise relations with the aim of reaching a framework agreement by the end of the year.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met President Castro and other ministers and senior officials in Havana.
It’s the highest level diplomatic visit to the island from Europe to date, as Cuba’s relations with the West continue to thaw.
“We need to intensify (our dialogue), this doesn’t mean we are unsatisfied with the past, just an issue of using the political momentum of our meetings, of my visit here and of the good meetings we had today to make sure that we translate this into an agreement,” Mogherini told a news conference in Havana.
Also passing through Havana was Russia’s foreign minister, keen to show that Cuba’s reconciliation with the US does not affect its relations with its former Cold War ally.
Cuba welcomed Sergei Lavrov’s “support” in opposing the American trade embargo.
Although the EU lift
