Restoring Cuba-U.S. diplomatic ties in time for a key hemispheric summit in April depends on Washington's willingness to create the right conditions, a senior Cuban official said Wednesday.
Gustavo Machin, deputy director for U.S. affairs at Cuba's Foreign Ministry, indicated removing Cuba from a list of countries alleged to be "sponsors of terrorism" was one of the measures.
The second measure was removing banking restrictions imposed a year ago on Cuba's diplomatic mission in Washington.
"We consider these issues to be important to creating the appropriate setting (for) re-establishing diplomatic ties and opening embassies," Machin told reporters.
"It would make no sense for us to re-establish diplomatic ties with the U.S. if Cuba remains on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism," said Machin.
The official, who is set to attend a second round of bilateral talks Friday in Washington to discuss the reopening of embassies, stressed that the Cuban delegation was heading to the meeting with a "constructive spirit."