Six in 10 Americans believe restoring diplomacy with Cuba is mostly good for the US and 52 percent approve of Obama’s handling of relations with the island, said a CBS News/New York Times poll.

However, there are more doubts over what impact it will have on Cuba politically, with half the respondents saying it will make no difference.

Obama said in comments broadcast shortly ahead of his landmark talks Monday in Havana with Raul Castro that “change is going to happen here and I think that Raul Castro understands that.”

But, again speaking to ABC, he cautioned: “There’s no doubt that the Cuban government is still a one-party state that’s exerting control and that’s stifling dissent.”

The poll was conducted by telephone March 11-15 among a random sample of 1,022 adults nationwide, AFP reported.

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