Cuba welcomes OAS vote result

A senior Cuban official, Ricardo Alarcon, has welcomed a decision by the Organisation of American States to lift the 1962 ban on Cuban membership.

Mr Alarcon, the Speaker of the Cuban parliament, said it was a major victory - but added it did not mean Cuba actually wanted to re-join.

The OAS decision has been sharply criticised by Cuban exiles in the US.

They say the communist system is incompatible with OAS calls for respect for human rights and democracy.

A Cuban-American member of the US Senate, Robert Menendez, suggested that a bill should be introduced in the US Congress to eliminate Washington's funding for the OAS, which accounts for 60% of the regional body's total budget.

Intense wrangling

OAS countries agreed to lift the ban on Cuba at a summit meeting in Honduras on Wednesday.

The resolution was passed after intense wrangling over US demands that Cuba face conditions on re-joining.

Cuba was suspended from the 34-member OAS 47 years ago over its "incompatible" adherence to Marxism-Leninism.

In April, President Barack Obama said he wanted a new beginning with Cuba, after slightly easing the long-standing trade embargo against the island.

Washington and Havana have also agreed to resume regular talks on migration issues.

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