Cuba is 'willing to talk to US'

Cuba is 'willing to talk to US'

Cuban President Raul Castro has said he is willing to talk to Washington
about everything, including human rights, political prisoners and press
freedom.

His comments came hours after US President Barack Obama said Cuba needed
to make the next move if there was to be further improvement in relations.

Mr Castro was speaking in Venezuela ahead of a Summit of the Americas.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he will veto any final declaration
as Cuba is excluded from the meeting.

The summit, due to start in Trinidad, includes 34 Latin American and
Caribbean countries.

The US has said the gathering is reserved for democratic nations.

'Equal terms'

Speaking to Latin American leaders in Venezuela, President Castro said
he had sent word to the US government "in private and in public" that he
is open to negotiations as long as it is "on equal terms".
" We don't expect them to change overnight... but we do expect that Cuba
will send signals that they're interested in liberalising "
US President Barack Obama

There is still no formal contact between the Cuban authorities and the
US government, but this is the latest in a series of exchanges which
suggest that both sides appear to be making efforts to find a way to end
the 50-year stalemate, our correspondent in Havana, Michael Voss reports.

Earlier this week, the US president announced that he was lifting
restrictions on Cuban Americans visiting relatives on the island and
sending money home.

Following the easing of US travel restrictions, Mr Obama said it was up
to Havana to make the next move.

President Obama, who will attend the summit, said he wanted to "see
whether Cuba is also ready to change" as the US tried to improve relations.

"We don't expect them to change overnight, that would be unrealistic.
But we do expect that Cuba will send signals that they're interested in
liberalising," said Mr Obama, during a visit to Mexico.

Mr Castro, who took over the presidency from his older brother Fidel
last year, did not mention Mr Obama's comments specifically and stopped
short of promising any concrete actions.

'Unacceptable'

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he will veto any
final declaration at the Summit of the Americas because Cuba is excluded.
" I hope the president of the United States is going to listen "
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

Mr Chavez spoke as he welcomed his closest Latin American allies at a
meeting of the Alba group of nations in the Venezuelan city of Cumana.

He said a new organisation should be formed to replace the Organization
of American States (OAS), whose members are meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

"Why does Cuba continue to be mistreated?" Mr Chavez asked after
welcoming Mr Castro. "We can't accept it."

"I hope the president of the United States is going to listen" at the
OAS summit, he said.

A spokesperson for the US president said Mr Obama had no plans for a
bilateral meeting with Mr Chavez during the Summit of the Americas.

Mr Castro recalled Cuba's victory against an invasion of US-backed
exiles at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, the Associated Press news
agency reported.

"We are going to continue fighting," he said.

The Alba leaders, who include Mr Castro, Bolivian President Evo Morales
and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, are expected to announce the
launch of a shared currency called the sucre.

Mr Chavez said it would begin to circulate by January 2010.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8003507.stm

Published: 2009/04/17 04:12:21 GMT

BBC NEWS | Americas | Cuba is 'willing to talk to US' (1 May 2009)

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