Barack Obama hails ‘new chapter’ with Cuba

President Barack Obama has announced that the US and Cuba will reopen their embassies in Havana and Washington, heralding a “new chapter” in relations.

The embassy agreement marks the biggest tangible step toward normalising relations since the surprise announcement in December that the two countries were restarting diplomatic ties.

The posts in Washington and Havana are scheduled to open July 20, Cuba’s foreign ministry said. “We don’t have to be imprisoned by the past,” Obama said at the White House. “Americans and Cubans alike are ready to move forward.”