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WASHINGTON. — The United States and Cuba quietly ushered in a new era of post-Cold War relations yesterday, formally restoring diplomatic ties severed more than five decades ago and re-establishing embassies in each other’s capitals.

Just past the stroke of midnight, the two countries reached a new milestone in the historic thaw that began with a breakthrough announcement by US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on December 17.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez presided over the raising of the Cuban flag for the first time in 54 years over a mansion that will again serve as Havana’s embassy in Washington. The significant symbolic event was followed by a meeting at the State Department between Secretary of State John Kerry and Rodriguez, the first Cuban foreign minister on an official visit to Washington since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. — Reuters.