(VOVworld) – An Associated Press-GfK poll released Monday showed that a majority of Americans support the normalization of diplomatic ties with Cuba.

The Cuban flag is raised in front of the Cuban embassy for the first time in 54 years July 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

Almost three-fourths of the 1,000 Americans questioned said the US should have diplomatic relations with Cuba and 58% of Americans approved of President Barack Obama’s decision to restore ties with Cuba. Forty-eight percent thought the 50-year economic sanctions on Cuba should be decreased or eliminated entirely.

The poll was taken one week before the reopening of the countries' embassies, a step toward the normalization that US President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced in December.

The US has removed Cuba from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism, the biggest impediment to restoring relations.