Obama, Castro hold 'candid' historic meeting

Barack Obama and Raul Castro held the first face-to-face talks between US and Cuban leaders since 1956 in Panama on April 11, vowing to pursue their historic effort to bury Cold War-era enmity.

Sitting together in a blue-carpeted room, Obama thanked Castro for his "spirit of openness and courtesy" during their interactions, while the communist leader stressed that the negotiations will require patience.
 
Obama also sought to calm tensions with another leftist nation and a Cuban ally, speaking briefly with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for the first time, telling him Washington did not seek to threaten Caracas.
 
The Obama-Castro meeting, which lasted more than an hour, was the climax of their surprise announcement on December 17 that, after a year and a half of secret negotiations, they would seek to normalize relations that broke off in 1961.
 
"This is obviously a historic meeting," said Obama, who spoke first after they sat down in polished, wooden chairs for their talks on the sidelines of the 35-nation Summit of the Americas in Panama City.
 
"We are now in a position to move on a path toward the future," he said, adding that the immediate task was to reopen embassies.
 
Castro, 83, broke into a smile when Obama acknowledged that the two sides will continue to have differences on human rights and other issues.
 
After Obama spoke, the two men stood up and shook hands.
 
Saying he agreed with everything Obama said, Castro acknowledged that the two governments can still have differences but "with respect of the ideas of the others."  

"We are willing to discuss everything but we need to be patient, very patient," he said.
 
"We already expressed to some...