白宮：奧巴馬將於下月訪問古巴

White House officials say President Barack Obama will visit Cuba next month, a major, symbolic step in the warming of ties between the two Cold War enemies.

The Obama administration will formally announce the trip Thursday, according to a senior administration official, who said the visit will be a part of the president's travels to Latin America.

cnn reported the visit is planned for March 21-22, before the president flies to Argentina.

The trip had long been expected as part of Obama's effort to make as much progress as possible in improving ties with Cuba before he leaves office in January, 2017.

Late last year Obama said he would like to visit Cuba by the end of 2016, but only if the Communist-led country makes enough human rights reforms and he can meet with political dissidents.

Cuban officials have not commented on the reported Obama visit. After the president's comments in December, Havana said they welcome Obama, but warned him against meddling in the country's internal affairs.白宮官員說，奧巴馬總統定於下月訪問古巴，這將是增進這兩個冷戰對手間關係的具有象徵意義的重要步驟。

美國政府一名高層官員說，奧巴馬政府將於星期四正式宣佈這次訪問。他表示，此行將是奧巴馬總統出訪拉丁美洲的組成部分。

美國有線電視新聞網說，奧巴馬計劃於3月21日至22日訪問古巴，隨後前往阿根廷訪問。

奧巴馬希望在2017年1月離任前最大限度地改善美古關係，出訪古巴早在外界預料之中。

奧巴馬去年年底曾表示，他願意在2016年年底前訪問古巴，但前提條件是古巴在人權方面做出足夠改革，以及他在訪問期間可以會見持不同政見者。

古巴官員尚未對有關奧巴馬訪問的消息發表評論。針對奧巴馬去年12月的表態，哈瓦那對奧巴馬錶示歡迎，但警告他不要干涉古巴內政。