Obama, Castro set for historic Panama meet
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THE presidents of the United States and Cuba have spoken by phone for only the second time in more than 50 years, setting the stage for a historic encounter between the two leaders at a regional summit in Panama.
The extraordinary, late-night call between President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro on Thursday came shortly after both leaders arrived in Panama City for the Summit of the Americas, which was due to begin yesterday. The two leaders have been working to restore diplomatic ties, a move that sent shockwaves through Latin America when Obama and Castro announced it in tandem in December.
Jorge Leganoa, the deputy director of Cuba’s state-run National Information Agency, said in a Facebook post that Obama and Castro had spoken by phone. He provided no additional details. The conversation was confirmed by another diplomat, who requested anonymity.
The White House declined to comment.
In another major step on Thursday, the US and Cuba held their highest-level diplomatic meeting since cutting off relations more than half a century ago. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met behind closed doors in Panama City for a session that the State Department described as lengthy and productive.
The flurry of diplomacy was likely to reinvigorate ongoing efforts by the US and Cuba to start their relationship anew after five decades of American presidents either isolating or working to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro or his brother Raul Castro.
Ahead of his arrival in Panama, Obama announced he was close to a decision about removing Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, a major impediment to warmer ties as far as Havana is concerned.
The US has long since stopped actively accusing Cuba of supporting terrorism, and Obama has hinted at his willingness to take Cuba off the list ever since he and Castro announced a thaw in relations in December.
Yet he has stopped short of the formal decision amid indications that the White House was reluctant to grant Cuba’s request until other thorny issues — such as restrictions on US diplomats in Havana — were resolved.
“We don’t want to be imprisoned by the past,” Obama said on Thursday. “When something doesn’t work for 50 years, you don’t just keep on doing it. You try something new.”
The last known conversation between Obama and Castro was in December, shortly before they announced the thaw in relations.
The two leaders exchanged a brief handshake in 2013 during Nelson Mandela’s funeral in South Africa, but haven’t held any substantive in-person meetings.
Such an encounter was likely to take place either today or tomorrow during the summit.
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