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U.S., Cuba talks at fast thaw stage

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Trading their warmest words in a half-century, the United States and Cuba pressed ahead Friday with a dizzying series of gestures as leaders of the Americas gathered for a summit.

The momentum was so great that the head of the Organization of American States said he’ll ask his group to invite Cuba back after 47 years.

In a diplomatic exchange of the kind that normally takes months or years, President Obama this week dropped restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba, then challenged his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro to reciprocate. Within hours, Castro responded with Cuba’s most open offer for talks since the Eisenhower administration, saying he’s ready to discuss “human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners – everything.”

The United States fired back Friday, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offering: “We welcome his comments, the overture they represent and we are taking a very serious look at how we intend to respond.”

And OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said he would ask the 34 member nations to invite Cuba back into the fold. Analysts doubted Insulza would have done so without a nod from Washington.

“We’re going step by step,” Insulza said. He called on the group to annul the 1962 resolution that suspended Cuba because its “Marxist-Leninist” system was incompatible with OAS principles.

Analysts cautioned the week’s developments do not necessarily mean peace is upon us.

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