The U.S. State Department will host the second round of talks with Cuban government officials to normalize diplomatic relations between the two countries on Friday.

According to the U.S. State Department, the meeting with U.S. and Cuban officials is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. EST and last approximately six hours. At the conclusion of the meeting, Cuba and U.S. heads of delegations are expected to deliver separate press conferences.

During a press call by the State Department, Friday's meeting will focus only on restoring diplomatic relations, which will include efforts to reopen respective embassies and "transition our interest section to embassies." Leading the U.S. delegation is Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson, while Josefina Vidal, the general director of the U.S. Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to represent Cuba.

A senior State Department official said the talks' progress will depend on how the Cuban government officials respond during the meeting.

Cuba's placing on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list is not expected to be discussed during the meeting. According to a senior State Department official, "The process of review of the state sponsor of terrorism list is a separate process from that of restoration of diplomatic relations, and we don't link the two. Obviously we're moving forward on the review of Cuba on that list as quickly as we can, and we hope that we will have that completed very soon. But we don't think that that should be linked to the restoration of diplomatic relations."

When asked for a time frame of Cuba's State Sponsor of Terrorism label, the State Department official said the review should not take months. The official said speculation could not take place on how prompt the State Department can review Cuba's name on the list. The State Department official said multiple offices are reviewing the State Sponsor of Terrorism topic.

The Washington, D.C., meeting, which will be held at the State Department headquarters, comes as Cuba hosted similar talks on Jan. 22. The Havana meeting also included discussions to reopen respective embassies, accrediting and granting U.S. diplomats access to travel the island and to remove the caps on the number of U.S. diplomatic personnel in Cuba. The Jan. 22 meeting also saw Jacobson become the first senior American diplomat in the island in 38 years.

As Latin Post reported, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced efforts to renew diplomatic relations on Dec. 17. Since the announcement, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Treasury Department have amended regulations on travel and shipments to Cuba. Last week, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., led a coalition of congressional Democrats to Cuba with the intent to "advance" relations between the U.S. and Cuba. The Democratic delegation met with Cuban government officials, Cuba's Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega and local community leaders.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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