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Raul Castro Holds First Meeting with US Leaders

Holds 'constructive dialogue' with six congresspeople

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 7, 2009 7:15 AM CDT

(Newser) – Raul Castro met with six visiting members of the Congressional Black Caucus for more than four hours yesterday in his first face-to-face discussions with US leaders since he became Cuba's president last year, the AP reports. Castro spoke with Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, and other members of the delegation behind closed doors. "I'm convinced Raul Castro wants a normal relationship with the United States," Lee said after the meeting adjourned around midnight. "He's serious.”

“We talked about all the issues necessary to normal relations between our two countries,” Lee added. Cuba called the meeting “a broad exchange of ideas on many topics, with emphasis on the future evolution of bilateral relations and economic ties after the arrival of a new US administration." In a column yesterday Fidel got into the act, too, writing that Cuba is not afraid to talk directly to the US, and praising Sen. Richard Lugar for proposing an envoy to reshape US-Cuba relations.

In this photo released by Cuba's presidential press office, Raul Castro, right, meets with Rep. Barbara Lee, second right, and other members of an American delegation in Havana yesterday. (AP Photo/Cuba Presidential Press Office, Geovany Fernandez)

In this photo released by Cuba's presidential press office, Cuba's President Raul Castro, left, shakes hands with US Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, in Havana, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Cuba Presidential Press Office, Geovany Fernandez)

In this photo released by Granma, Cuba's President Raul Castro, right, meets with Rep. Barbara Lee, second right, and other members of an American delegation in Havana yesterday. (AP Photo/Granma, Juvenal Balan Neyra)

In this photo released by Cuba's presidential press office Raul Castro, right, meets with US Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, in Havana yesterday. (AP Photo/Cuba Presidential Press Office, Geovany Fernandez)

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Raul Castro Holds First Meeting with US Leaders

Holds 'constructive dialogue' with six congresspeople

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Cuba to Free 2,900 Prisoners

But American Alan Gross not among those to be released

As Cuba Opens Up, Castro Hits Corruption

Free market reforms require crackdown, say Cuba officials

Poor Cubans Eye Gold Rush as Car Market Opens

Waiter earning $15 a month can sell 30-year-old Moskvich for $5K

Cuban Reforms May Endanger Classic US Cars

People might be able to buy modern ones for the first time

Aging Cuban Leaders Will Consider Term Limits

Government needs fresh blood, says President Raul Castro

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Raul Castro Holds First Meeting with US Leaders

Holds 'constructive dialogue' with six congresspeople

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Congress • Cuba • Raul Castro • Barbara Lee • Congressional Black Caucus • meeting

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Cuba to Free 2,900 Prisoners

But American Alan Gross not among those to be released

As Cuba Opens Up, Castro Hits Corruption

Free market reforms require crackdown, say Cuba officials

Poor Cubans Eye Gold Rush as Car Market Opens

Waiter earning $15 a month can sell 30-year-old Moskvich for $5K

Cuban Reforms May Endanger Classic US Cars

People might be able to buy modern ones for the first time

Aging Cuban Leaders Will Consider Term Limits

Government needs fresh blood, says President Raul Castro

About Us

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Newser By Users

Community

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What is Newser?