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U.S. President Barack
Obama smiles during a meeting with Cuba's President Raul Castro, who listens to
a translator, during the first plenary session of the Summit of the Americas in
Panama City, Panama April 11, 2015 (Reuters / Jonathan Ernst)
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Presidents from the US
and Cuba have historically sat down at a negotiating table for the first time
in more than 50 years. Barack Obama met with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro
to discuss relations between the two countries.
The meeting has been
confirmed by the White House press service.
"We are now in a position to move on a path
toward the future," Obama told Castro at the meeting. "Over time it is possible for us to turn the
page and develop a new relationship between our two countries."
"We are willing to discuss everything but we
need to be patient, very patient," Castro replied.
The US President has
thanked Castro for the “spirit of openness” during the remarkable
meeting that followed the historic handshake between the two leaders, AFP
reported on Saturday.
The meeting took place as
both nations attended the Summit of the America’s, which is being held in
Panama City.
Earlier in the day, US
President Barack Obama said "the
fact that President Castro and I are both sitting here today marks a historic
occasion," reminding that it was the first time the Cuban leader is
attending the summit.
“The
Cold War is over ... Cuba is not a threat to the United States,” Obama told reporters,
stressing the need to make the message clear.
He also admitted that “there are still going to be deep and
significant differences” between the two governments.
Castro responded by
saying he is open to dialogue, but warned that Cuba should not look be rushed
into anything.
“So
we are willing to discuss everything, but we need to be patient, very patient.
Some things we will agree on; others we will disagree,” the 83 year-old leader
said.
Over the past fifty
years, relations between the United States and Cuba have been particularly
strained. A socialist revolution in the 1950s led to a US embargo and a failed
CIA-sponsored military invasion at the Bay of Pigs. The two countries only
announced last year their intentions to seek better ties.
The failed Bay of Pigs
invasion in 1961 is still haunts the US government as Washington wishes to keep
some details secret. Four out of five volumes of the internal account have been
published. However, the Obama administration is determined the fifth volume
remains undisclosed.
A report by the CIA
inspector general concerning the Bay of Pigs invasion was made public following
a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Upon being published, it
issued a damming testimony of US plans from start to finish.
It revealed a plot
organized by President Dwight Enisenhower and authorized by President John F.
Kennedy, which involved the CIA training Cuban exiles based in the US. They
would then be used to launch a surprise attack against Cuban troops at the Bay
of Pigs.
The scheme was a
disaster, with the majority of the 1,500 CIA-trained Cubans killed on the beach
shortly after landing on the island.
Cuba has been on the US
list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982. However, the US State
Department formally recommended removing the Caribbean island from the list on
Friday.
In December, Obama
announced his intentions to restore diplomatic relations between the two
countries, but the slow pace of change has frustrated Cuban officials. Trade
and Foreign Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca called the US measures “a step in the right direction,” but
added they did not go far enough in lifting the decades-long embargo.
Meanwhile, the
international community is still waiting for the promised closure of Guantanamo
Bay prison, which was opened in 2001 at a US naval base in Cuba.
During his first
presidential campaign, Obama pledged to close the facility in 2009. There are
currently 149 detainees in the prison, with half of those still behind bars,
despite having been cleared for transfer.
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