The White House on Wednesday said President Obama would have no reservations about visiting Cuba following the resumption of diplomatic talks between his administration and the Castro regime.
“It is not unprecedented for us to go places and interact with countries with whom we have a very fundamental difference of opinion about that country’s treatment of their citizens,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, highlighting Obama’s recent trip to the communist nation of China.
“We engage those countries and we engage the leadership of those countries and we do so for a variety of reasons, and often it serves our national security interests to do so,” he insisted.
Secretary of State John Kerry is planning to travel to Cuba on behalf of the Obama administration.
Earlier Wednesday, Obama announced a deal to start diplomatic negotiations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana. The administration also will ease restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and the goods they can bring back to the United States, though the long-standing economic embargo on the island nation remains in effect.
Though Earnest said there are no plans for Obama to visit Cuba, he wouldn’t rule it out before the president leaves office.
“If there is an opportunity to visit, he wouldn’t turn it down,” Earnest said, noting the number of tourist attractions in the Latin America country.
