US, Cuba Hold Talks At UN Over Haiti Reconstruction Efforts

US, Cuba Hold Talks At UN Over Haiti Reconstruction Efforts
4/2/2010 3:37 AM ET

The United States and Cuba have held direct talks at the United Nations, the first high-level interaction between the two sworn political adversaries in several years, the US State Department said Thursday.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met Cheryl Mills, the chief of staff to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at the UN headquarters in New York and discussed about the reconstruction of Haiti which was devastated in a massive earthquake on January 12.

According to US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, the US did not agree "with Cuba on very much", but they both agreed on the need for aid to Haiti.

Cuba too confirmed that the talks between Rodriguez and Mills in a statement released at the UN. "We would hope that future exchanges of this nature are a possibility," the communique said.

But, the two sides did not divulge the details of the meeting.

The talks, held on the sidelines of a UN forum, assumes considerable significance since the US is leading the reconstruction efforts in Haiti, while Cuban doctors have been rendering yeoman's work to the Haitian people in their hour of need.

In a goodwill gesture, Havana has also allowed medical aid carrying US airplanes to use its airspace, considerably reducing the time and effort needed for despatching assistance to the Carribean nation.

Despite a high degree of expectation regarding an improvement in US-Cuban relations following Barack Obama's election, there has been a souring of bilateral ties lately.

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