HAVANA, (Reuters) – Talks aimed at resuming direct postal service between the United States and Cuba, which has been suspended for decades, are set to be held in mid-September in another sign of thawing U.S.-Cuba relations, Western diplomats said.
Officials from the U.S. State Department and U.S. Postal Service were expected to attend the discussions in Havana, the diplomats, who asked not to be named, said.
No further details were immediately available and there was no immediate confirmation from the Cuban government.
The talks are part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s declared intention to “recast” relations with Communist-ruled Cuba, which for 47 years has been the target of a U.S. trade embargo.
In April, Obama lifted restrictions on travel and remittances sent to Cuba by Cuban Americans with relatives on the island and he has restarted talks on immigration that were suspended by the Bush administration in 2004.
Cuba agreed in late May to resume the immigration discussions and also to a U.S. request for talks on the postal service.
At present, mail between the two countries must go through a third country.
