Obama, Castro meet at UN as U.S.-Cuban relations thaw

Amid thawing relations, U.S. President Barack Obama held talks with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro at the United Nations on Tuesday, the first meeting between the heads of state of the two countries on American soil in more than five decades.

The presidents discussed recent advances in relations between the two countries, as well as additional steps each government can take to deepen bilateral cooperation, the White House said in a statement.

During the meeting, Obama highlighted U.S. regulatory changes that will allow more Americans to travel to and do business with Cuba, while helping to improve the lives of the Cuban people, it said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. announced new amendments to sanctions on Cuba, further easing travel and business restrictions on the island country.

Obama welcomed the progress made in establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries in July, and underscored that continued reforms in Cuba would increase the impact of U.S. regulatory changes, according to the statement.

In addition, the U.S. president highlighted steps Washington intended to take to improve ties between the American and Cuban peoples, and reiterated U.S. support for human rights in Cuba.

The two leaders also discussed the recent visits of Pope Francis to both countries.

On Tuesday, Obama and Castro briefly shook hands in a small meeting room at the UN before starting their closed-door talks, according to a pool report distributed by the White House. Also present at the meeting were U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Monday, Obama said that he is "confident" that U.S. Congress will "inevitably lift an embargo that should not be in place anymore."

"Change won't come overnight to Cuba, but I'm confident that openness, not coercion, will support the reforms and better the life the Cuban people deserve," Obama said.

Castro, on the other hand, demanded in his speech on Monday an end to the trade embargo, the return of the land used as the Guantanamo Bay military base and compensation for decades of economic damages.

The Cuban leader also criticized the United States for a history of "wars of aggression and interference in the internal affairs of the states, the ousting of sovereign governments by force, the so-called 'soft coups' and the recolonization of territories." Endit