DHAKA: US and Cuban officials claimed a good first day in historic talks in Havana on Wednesday despite disagreements over migration policies ahead of negotiations to restore diplomatic ties.

Each side described the first of two days of talks as productive and constructive even though they remained deeply at odds over the exodus of Cubans to the United States. It was the first meeting in Havana since the momentous decision by US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro in December to seek normal ties.

Ms Roberta Jacobson, the US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, became the highest-ranking American official to set foot in Cuba since 1980 when she landed in Havana around midday. She was due to meet Cuban counterparts for a working dinner one the eve of talks aimed at negotiating the reopening of embassies in Havana and Washington, a US official said.

In Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the two sides still have much to negotiate before the Cold War rivals can normalize ties frozen since 1961. "When it is timely, when it is appropriate, I'll look forward to traveling to Cuba in order to formally open an embassy and begin to move forward," Mr Kerry told reporters.

A Cuban foreign ministry official sought to downplay expectations of major breakthroughs this week. "We can't expect that everything will be resolved in one meeting," the official said, according to state media, adding that normalizing ties was "a much longer and complex process."

Source: Channelnewsasia.com

BDST: 1032 HRS, JAN 22, 2015