Raúl Castro: US and Cuba ambassadors to be named soon

Cuba and the United States will name ambassadors to each other's countries after the island is removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism later this month, Cuban President Raúl Castro said Tuesday.

Castro spoke to journalists at Havana's international airport after seeing off visiting French President Francois Hollande.

The U.S. and Cuba have not had full diplomatic relations since 1961. Currently they have lower-level missions called Interests Sections in each other's countries, under the protection of the Swiss government.

President Barack Obama in April announced his decision to remove Cuba from the terror list, which was seen a major obstacle for the opening of full embassies. A 45-day waiting period that would give Congress time to take action on Obama's decision ends on May 29.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said he couldn't confirm Cuba's timeline for an exchange of ambassadors. He said such a step would be "logical" once diplomatic relations are re-established.

Havana long has described the terror designation as unjustified and unfair.

"This sort of unjust accusation is about to be lifted and we'll be able to name ambassadors," Castro said.

Castro and Obama announced in December they would work toward a restoration of diplomatic relations after more than a half-century.

Castro also said on Tuesday that dissidents were receiving "illegal" training at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, an issue he raised with Obama in talks on restoring diplomatic ties.

Castro, 83, did not say whether Cuba's complaint would impede the move toward diplomatic relations.

"What I told them, concretely to the president, what most concerns me, is that they continue doing illegal things...for example, graduating independent journalists," Castro told reporters.

"They give them I don't know how many classes, on screen, in teleconferences from the United States. I don't know if they give them a diploma and of course they give them their corresponding monthly payment," Castro said.

The U.S. Interests Section offers free classes in journalism, English and information technology, but students are not paid. Cuba sees them as an attempt to meddle in Cuba's internal affairs and a violation of international conventions on diplomacy.

Cuba tightly controls its state-owned media and blocks websites run by independent journalists, who are typically critics of the one-party political system and denied journalism credentials.

Castro spoke with Obama last month at a regional summit in Panama, the first meeting of the leaders of both countries in nearly 60 years. Once diplomatic relations are restored, the longtime adversaries will work on the more complicated task of normalizing overall relations. The U.S. trade embargo of Cuba, which only Congress can remove, remains a snag. 

Wire services