HAVANA, (Reuters) – The United States and Cuba  should normalize diplomatic relations then sort out their  differences, the head of a delegation of U.S. lawmakers on a  visit to Cuba said yesterday.

“Most of the members of our delegation believe we need to  actually normalize relations and then the details of what that  means would follow,” Representative Barbara Lee, who is also  chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said at a news  conference.

The seven member delegation of Democrats, made up mostly of  African-American lawmakers, met with Parliament President Ricardo  Alarcon and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in what Lee said was  an effort to improve relations between Washington and the  communist-ruled island.

They also toured various Cuban facilities, including a  genetic engineering and pharmaceutical complex, and planned to  visit churches yesterday.

The United States is the only country in the hemisphere, other  than El Salvador, that does not have normal diplomatic and  economic relations with Cuba.

El Salvadoran President-elect Mauricio Funes has announced  he will establish both when he takes office in June.

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered a review of Cuba  policy, but stated the decades-old embargo should remain to  pressure Havana toward democratic change.

While Obama could ease diplomatic relations with Cuba, lifting  the embargo would need congressional approval.

The U.S. congressional delegation is the first to visit Cuba  since Obama took office in January.

They hope to meet with President Raul Castro, aiming to get a  better grasp of issues that should be discussed between the two  countries, before returning home on Wednesday, Lee said.

“We talked in broad terms, more about principles than about  details, and what would make sense between two sovereign  nations and how we would want to see those conversations proceed,”  Lee said of their meeting on Saturday with Foreign Minister  Rodriguez.

The U.S. Congress is preparing to consider bills lifting most  restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba.

On Friday, a White House official confirmed a Wall Street  Journal report that Obama would abolish limits on family travel  and cash remittances between the United States and Cuba, but  the official said the move was not a policy shift or imminent.