Cuban President Raul Castro has welcomed the renewal of relations with the United States, 53 years after diplomatic ties were broken.
Castro made the announcement in a televised address on Wednesday, saying that both countries would labor to resolve their differences "without renouncing a single one of our principles," AP reported.
Castro went on to thank the Vatican and the Canadian government for their help with the negotiations between the US and his country.
"We should learn the art of living together in a civilized manner in spite of our differences," he added.
Castro also called on Washington to lift its trade embargo which, he said, "has caused enormous human and economic damage."
The Cuban president’s remarks coincided with a statement by US President Barack Obama announcing the end of what he referred to as a "rigid" ineffective policy isolating Cuba.
"I do not believe we can continue doing the same thing for over five decades and expect a different result," Obama said of the Cuban embargo.
Obama also stated that the US would open an embassy in the capital Havana and significantly increase the amount of money that can be sent from the US to Cuba.
The announcement came amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American prisoner Alan Gross and another US spy, as well as the release of three Cubans jailed in the US.
Cuba and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1961. Washington placed an official embargo against Cuba in 1962. They became ideological foes soon after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.
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