MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US and Cuba ready to announce embassies opening in Havana and Washington

The White House announced that Obama would deliver a statement, presumably the formal announcement, in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

President Obama will announce on Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba have reached an agreement to open embassies in Havana and Washington, an administration official has confirmed. The announcement marks a major step in ending hostilities between the longtime foes and an opportunity to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and apparently will be simultaneous from Havana.

 The U.S. and Cuba have been negotiating the reestablishment of embassies in each other's capitals following the December 17 announcement that they would move to restore ties.

The White House announced late Tuesday that Obama would deliver a statement, presumably the formal announcement, in the Rose Garden at 11am Wednesday.

In Havana an official from the US interests section in Cuba on Wednesday will be delivering the Cuban ministry a letter from Obama to president Raul Castro.

For Obama, ending Washington's half-century freeze with Cuba is seen as a major element of his foreign policy legacy. He has long touted the value of engagement and argued that the U.S. embargo on the Castro brothers island just 90 miles south of Florida was ineffective.

Since the late 1970s, the United States and Cuba have operated diplomatic missions called interests sections in each other's capitals. The missions are technically under the protection of Switzerland, and do not enjoy the same status as full embassies.

While the opening of embassies marks a major milestone in the thaw between the U.S. and Cuba, significant issues remain as the countries look to normalize relations.

Among them: talks on human rights; demands for compensation for confiscated American properties in Havana and damages to Cuba from the embargo; and possible cooperation on law enforcement, including the touchy topic of U.S. fugitives sheltering in Havana. Cuba demands an end to the embargo and a return of Guantanamo.