US meeting with Cuba a ‘turning point’

According to international media US President Barack Obama said that his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro could be a "turning point". He continued, describing the meeting on the fringes of the Summit of the Americas as "candid and fruitful".

Obama added that the former enemies would continue to have differences, but that they could advance their mutual interests, with the meeting marking the first formal talks between the two countries' leaders in more than half a century.

"What we have both concluded is that we can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility," Obama explained. "Over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries."

His remarks came at the end of a regional summit which has been dominated by the historic thaw between US-Cuba relations.

Cuban leader Raul Castro said that the two countries had "agreed to disagree" when necessary.

"We are disposed to talk about everything, with patience," he said. "Some things we will agree with, and others we won't."

Earlier, the Cuban leader referred to Obama as an "honest man" after a lengthy speech largely taken up with the history of the relationship between the two nations.

"When I talk about the revolution, the passion oozes out of me," Castro said. "I have to ask President Obama for forgiveness. He is not responsible for the things which happened before his time."

Latin American and Caribbean leaders at the summit in Panama welcomed the reconciliation withB razilian President Dilma Rousseff hailing it as a courageous effort to end the last vestiges of the Cold War.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina gave the main credit to Cuba, saying it had fought with unprecedented dignity against the US blockade.