Castro Expects Obama to Exclude Cuba From Terrorism Sponsors List Soon

The possible exclusion of Cuba from the United States’ list of states that sponsor terrorism would be a positive step by Washington, Cuban President Raul Castro said Saturday.

PANAMA (Sputnik) — The US Department of State has recommended to remove Cuba from the US government’s list of State sponsors of terrorism.

Speaking at the plenary session of the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama, Raul Castro said:

“I evaluate as a positive step the words of [the US President] Barack Obama on making a decision soon on the exclusion of Cuba from the terrorism sponsor states, the list in which our country shouldn’t have gotten.”

Cuba is ready to engage in dialogue with the United States and work towards respectful coexistence, the Cuban leader said.

"I reaffirm to [US President Barack] Obama our willingness to enter into a respectful dialogue and work towards our countries’ mutual existence, as in the civilized world. An existence that respects our interests.”

Earlier on Saturday, Castro and US President Barack Obama met and shook hands ahead of the historic summit.

On December 17, 2014, Obama announced that the United States would seek to normalize its relations with Cuba, including the restoration of diplomatic relations, the lifting of trade and visa restrictions, and the exclusion of Cuba from the list of sponsors of terrorism where it was placed in March 1982. Washington is yet to lift its trade embargo against the Caribbean country.

Castro confirmed that he would attend the 2015 Summit of the Americas days after Obama’s historic announcement.

The Summit of the Americas, a gathering of Western hemisphere countries, started on Friday evening and will run until April 11. The event is attended by delegations of 35 countries and the leaders of 33 states.

The relations between Cuba and the United States and the recent deterioration of the relations between Washington and Caracas are among the main issues to be discussed on the Summit.