World
Obama, Castro Hold Historic Meeting, Agree to Foster ‘a New Relationship’
US President Barack Obama with Cuban President Raul Castro during their meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Karen DeYoung and Nick Miroff, THE WASHINGTON POST
PANAMA CITY (The Washington Post) — President Obama and President Raúl Castro symbolically ended more than a half-century of official estrangement between the United States and Cuba here Saturday in a historic-face-to-face meeting that Obama said put them on “a path toward the future.”
In a small room with two chairs side by side, Castro smiled as Obama said that they would relay their concerns about each other’s policies but could disagree with a spirit of respect.
“Over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries,” Obama said. He said their immediate task is to reopen embassies in Havana and Washington.
After the two shook hands, Castro, speaking in Spanish, said he agreed with everything Obama had said.
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