U.S., Cuba to unveil plan to reopen embassies

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The United States and Cuba have agreed on a plan to restore formal diplomatic ties for the first time in half a century.

A senior administration official told CNN on Tuesday that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry plan to make an announcement Wednesday morning.

"We will formally announce tomorrow that the United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and open embassies in each other's capitals," the official said.

The United States ended diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, after the Fidel Castro-led Cuban Revolution prompted decades of Cold War hostilities between the two countries.

Last December, Obama announced a "new course" of American relations with Cuba.

"Isolation has not worked," Obama said. "It's time for a new approach."

Obama said the United States would work to re-establish a U.S. embassy in Havana, ease travel restrictions to the country and other commercial sanctions.