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01/03/2005:

"Cuba Restores Contacts with European Embassies"

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba ended a diplomatic deadlock with eight European Union nations on Monday in response to proposals by EU officials to stop inviting dissidents to National Day receptions in Havana.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Cuba was reopening official contacts with the embassies of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Greece, Portugal and Sweden.

European diplomats welcomed the announcement as a major step toward normalizing relations between Cuba and the European Union, the island's main trade and investment partner. But they said Cuba could not expect Europe to abandon the dissidents.
Full Article: nytimes.com/reuters