Economics

Obama, Cuba’s Castro Agree to Disagree at Historic Meeting

They pledge to move ahead with normalizing relations while cautioning that change may come slowly.

US President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Cuba's President Raul Castro during a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas at the ATLAPA Convention center on April 11, 2015 in Panama City.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

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By Angela Greiling Keane and Raymond Colitt

April 11, 2015 at 6:35 PM UTC

Updated on

April 12, 2015 at 3:15 PM UTC

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Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro met in the first such encounter between the U.S. and Cuba in more than 50 years and pledged to move ahead with normalizing relations while cautioning that change may come slowly.

“We will continue to try to lift up our concerns about democracy and human rights,” Obama said Saturday while sitting next to Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama. “We can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility and over time it is possible for us to turn the page.” Castro said he is willing to “discuss everything.”