Cuba will not “negotiate matters that are inherent to its internal system in exchange for an improvement of relations with the United States”, Josefina Vidal, director of US affairs in the Cuban foreign ministry, said Wednesday.
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Scheduled commercial flight service has been suspended for decades as a result of Cold War animosity, although charter flights have connected the countries in the interim. The two countries have reopened embassies in Havana and Washington; agreed to a pilot program restarting direct mail service; signed two deals on environmental protection; and launched talks on issues from human rights to compensation for USA properties confiscated by Cuba’s revolution. Travel between the US and Cuba is up 50 percent this year, officials said.
An agreement would pave the way for US airlines to schedule flights to Cuba that travelers could book directly from their websites, which could boost tourism and business on the Communist-ruled island.
Those flying must often arrive at the airport four hours in advance and pay high prices for baggage in excess of strict weight limits.
And following today’s announcement, American Airlines plans to submit a U.S.-Cuba service proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation with the hope of introducing scheduled service soon in 2016.
The United States announced Thursday the resumption of regular flights to and from Cuba, the latest step in a historic thaw in relations.
It is unclear when the flights would start because negotiations between the Cuban government and the USA airlines could take months. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brayan Pena and Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu were among those who ran 10- and 11-year-old Cuban players through a skills camp on the second day of a three-day mission meant to warm relations between Major League Baseball and Cuba.
Thousands of Americans are already visiting the island and hotels and hostels are booked for months. Total advance sales in the United States and Canada now stand at more than $100 million.
“There are very few things that, under the law, the president definitely can’t change”, Vidal said, calling on Obama to allow the Cuban government to use dollars in worldwide transaction and export goods to the US, among other measures.
On other issues, however, the United States and Cuba remain far apart.
Cuban officials have declared themselves ready to do work with Oggun, an Alabama-based two-man firm that wants to build affordable, easy-to-repair tractors mostly for private Cuban farmers.
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“All we get is, ‘your application is still pending,” Oggun co-founder Horace Cleber said.
