U.S. and Cuban officials Friday began a second round of talks aimed at restoring full diplomatic ties after over 50 years of enmity. The negotiators met at the State Department in Washington for round two, after an initial meeting in Havana last month ended with little sign of a breakthrough. The talks are building on U.S. President Barack Obama's and Cuban President Raul Castro's December announcement that the adversaries had decided to normalize relations severed in 1961. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson is leading the U.S. side, while Director of U.S. Affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry Josefina Vidal is heading the island nation's side. Neither official said anything during the few minutes journalists were allowed into the meeting room, but news conferences were scheduled for later Friday.
