A top U.S. official said Thursday that the first round of talks between Cuba and the U.S. have been "positive and productive," NBC News reported. "We have to overcome more than 50 years of a relationship that was not based on confidence or trust," Roberta Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told reporters. In the second day of historic talks in Havana, the focus was on establishing embassies in Washington D.C. and Havana. The U.S. and Cuba wish to map out regular commercial flights and open a banking relationship, which may take over a year. The U.S. said it will also consider taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, which was requested by Cuban diplomats. The talks are being led by two women — Jacobson, and Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, who is the general director of Cuba's U.S. Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
