(VOVworld) - Cuba and the United States will exchange ambassadors once the island is removed from the US blacklist of state terrorism sponsors, President Raul Castro said on Tuesday, although Washington said there was no set timetable.

US President Barack Obama (right) and Cuban President Raul Castro at a meeting in Panama on April 11 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

Speaking at the international Jose Marti airport in Havana following the visit by French President Francois Hollande, the Cuban President said new ambassadors will be named when a decree to remove Havana from the list of state terrorism sponsors, submitted by the US Department of State is approved at the end of this month. President Raul Castro said the two countries needed to discuss restrictions on their respective diplomats’ movements. He added bilateral dialogues on diplomatic normalization have made progress but the process needs to be carried out in a prudent manner to avoid any mistakes. President Castro also touched on the trade embargo the US has imposed on Cuba since 1962 and the handing back of sovereignty over Guantanamo Bay, the two main conditions set by Cuba for establishing diplomatic ties with the US.