美國古巴就互設使館達成協議大綱

A senior U.S. official says the United States and Cuba have agreed to reopen embassies in each other's capitals for the first time in more than 50 years.

The White House says President Barack Obama plans to make a statement on Cuba Wednesday from the Rose Garden, while Secretary of State John Kerry will speak in Vienna, where he is taking part in nuclear talks with Iran.

Cuba's foreign ministry says the chief of the U.S. interests section in Havana, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, will deliver a note Wednesday from Mr. Obama on reopening embassies.

Mr. Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced last December the two countries were ready to restore normal diplomatic relations that were severed at the height of the Cold War, after a several months of secret talks.

Since then, delegations from both sides have held several meetings in each other's capitals to iron out the details of reopening their embassies. Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro held a historic face-to-face meeting back in April on the sidelines of a regional summit in Panama, followed by Cuba's removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Mr. Obama's efforts to end the Cold War-era antagonism faces strong opposition in Congress, with many lawmakers accusing the president of ignoring Cuba's poor record on human rights.

The Republican-controlled legislature could deny funding for a new embassy in Cuba, and block Mr. Obama's choice of a new ambassador. It is also unlikely to agree to his request to lift the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba.一名美國高層官員說，美國和古巴已經同意在時隔50多年後在彼此的首都重設大使館。

白宮說，奧巴馬總統計劃星期三在玫瑰園發表一項有關古巴問題的聲明，此外克里國務卿將在維也納發表相關講話。目前克里在維也納參加與伊朗的核談判。

古巴外交部說，設在哈瓦那的美國利益辦事處負責人戴洛倫提斯星期三將轉達奧巴馬總統有關重開使館事宜的信件。

奧巴馬和古巴主席勞爾·卡斯特羅去年12月宣佈，美古兩國經過數月祕密會談後，將恢復在冷戰期間中斷的外交關係。

此後，美古兩國代表團在華盛頓和哈瓦那舉行了幾次會談，擬定重開使館的細節。今年4月，奧巴馬和卡斯特羅在巴拿馬舉行的一次地區峯會期間進行了具有歷史意義的面對面會晤。隨後，美國將古巴從支持恐怖主義國家名單中去除。

奧巴馬對古巴的態度在國會遭到強烈反對，很多議員指責奧巴馬無視古巴惡劣的人權紀錄。

共和黨控制的國會可能拒絕爲美國在古巴建立新大使館撥款，並可能阻撓奧巴馬提出的駐古巴大使人選獲得批准。此外，美國國會不大可能同意奧巴馬總統取消對古巴的貿易禁運。