US and Cuba 'seek to normalise ties'

Obama and Castro met a year ago at the Nelson Mandela funeral

US and Cuba are to start talks to normalise diplomatic ties in a historic shift in relations between the two countries, media reports say.

American officials have told US media the US is looking to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months.

The moves are part of a deal that saw the release of American Alan Gross by Cuba and includes the release of three Cubans jailed in Florida for spying.

US President Barack Obama is making a statement later.

Mr Gross, 65, has spent five years behind bars after being accused of subversion, for trying to bring internet services to communities in Cuba.

He earlier left Cuba on a US government plane and was freed on humanitarian grounds.

His arrest and imprisonment had undermined attempts to thaw diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The three Cubans released in the US are part of the so-called Cuban Five convicted of spying.

Prosecutors said the five had sought to infiltrate US military bases and spied on Cuban exiles in Florida.

Two were recently allowed to return to Cuba after finishing their sentences.