U.S.-Cuba postal talks seen as test for future ties

Experts say that, like most things between the longtime ideological foes, there are potential obstacles and the outcome is uncertain. But the talks in Havana may serve as a barometer for the future of U.S.-Cuba relations, said Dan Erikson at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

"This is a test of whether the U.S. and Cuba can deal with each other at all," he told Reuters. "If the two sides can't deliver the mail, then all bets are off in terms of improving other aspects of the relationship."

The U.S. delegation to the talks will be led by Bisa Williams, assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, and the most senior U.S. official to visit Cuba from President Barack Obama's administration.

The delegation will include representatives of the U.S. Postal Service.

"These are really exploratory talks and they are very technical in nature ... We see it as a potential avenue for improving the communication between our two countries," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington.

"We hope the talks will lead to consistent use of direct mail transportation between the U.S. and Cuba," he said.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez was asked about the meeting in a Wednesday news conference, but did not respond.

The United States invited Cuba in May to discuss postal services as part of efforts by Obama to improve relations that became hostile soon after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in a 1959 revolution. Castro, now 83, has handed over the presidency to his younger brother Raul Castro, 78.

Obama has taken steps to ease the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the communist-run island and to reopen dialogue that was shut down under his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Rodriguez on Wednesday described Obama as "well-intentioned" but chided him for not doing more to end the long-standing U.S. trade sanctions against the