High-level migration talks between Cuba and the United States, which would be the first formal contact between President Fidel Castro's communist government and the new Bush administration, have been provisionally set for next week, diplomatic sources said today.
The sources said the normally biannual conversations had been scheduled in principle for yesterday in New York, but there was no formal confirmation from Washington or Havana.
The talks are intended to monitor the fulfillment of accords signed by both sides in the mid-1990s to stem the illegal flow from Cuba of would-be migrants to the United States via the perilous sea voyage to Florida.
At the last talks in Havana in December, both sides blamed each other for the continuing problem.
US officials argue that Mr Castro's government is responsible for the harsh political and economic conditions that drive Cubans out, and effectively forces them to risk their lives trying to reach Florida by blocking legal migration.
But the Cuban government rejects that, saying a US law, the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, entices people across the water by offering privileged treatment to Cubans seeking residence if they touch American soil. Cuba also says Washington's four-decade-old economic embargo has created the economic hardship that forces many to try to leave the Caribbean island.
At next week's talks, National Assembly President Mr Ricardo Alarcon was again expected to head the Cuban delegation, the diplomatic sources said.
Adding extra piquancy this time to the always-charged talks is the fact that it would be the first direct government-to-government contact between Havana and Washington since President Bush took office in January.
Republican Bush has taken a tough line on Cuba, saying the US embargo will not be lifted until Mr Castro carries out political and economic reforms. Mr Castro has said he expects no rapprochement from Mr Bush.