US, Cuba in the same room after more than 50 years

By NewsGram Staff Writer

US President Barack Obama, while addressing the Summit of the Latin and North American leaders in Panama City said, "The Cuba policy shift marks a "turning point" for the region.

"The fact that President Castro and I are both sitting here today marks a historic occasion,' Obama said.

The US leader agreed to have disagreements on the issue of negotiating diplomatic issues since 1961 between the countries.

"I think it's no secret, President Castro I'm sure would agree, that there will continue to be significant differences between our two countries," the US President added.

"We will continue to speak out on behalf of universal values that we think are important. I'm sure President Castro will continue to speak out on the issues he thinks are important," said Obama.

Moreover, the US President has not yet decided on whether to remove Cuba from State Sponsors of Terrorism List.

He mentioned that Cuba is not a threat to the US. "We are not in the business of regime change and the Cold War on Cuba is over."

However, the US State Department has completed the review of Cuba's status and recommended the White House to remove Cuba from State Sponsors of Terrorism List.

The summit was the very first face-to-face meet between the two nations after they have started working on maintaining the relations since December 2014.