President Obama is meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro this week at the Summit of the Americas in Panama.
A senior U.S. official told CNN on Monday:Since they’re at the summit they’ll certainly interact but currently no formal bilateral meeting (is) scheduled.
That comment was made following Roberta Jackson, the State Department official leading efforts to normalize relations with Cuba made similar comments on Friday.
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Completing this poll grants you access to Shark Tank updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.I think on the question of the interactions, clearly, clearly President Obama knew when he made the decision to go to the summit and he knew that Cuba had been invited to the summit . . . that there would be an interaction at the summit.
The meeting would be the first of its kind since Obama announced in December he planned to start mending ways with Cuba. That announcement was met with fierce opposition by Republicans. Senator Marco Rubio led the fight saying apparently the President has forgotten why there was sanctions placed against Cuba in the first place.
Obama on the other hand feels extending the olive branch to Cuba is a test to see if they can regain our trust. In an interview with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, the president said:We are powerful enough to be able to test these propositions without putting ourselves at risk. And that’s the thing . . . people don’t seem to understand. . . You take a country like Cuba. For us to test the possibility that engagement leads to a better outcome for the Cuban people, there aren’t that many risks for us. It’s a tiny little country. It’s not one that threatens our core security interests, and so (there’s no reason not) to test the proposition. And if it turns out that it doesn’t lead to better outcomes, we can adjust our policies.
When it comes to what type of interaction Obama will have with Castro, that is unknown or simply not being disclosed.
The two-day summit is scheduled for April 10-11. Prior to the event the President will be traveling to Jamaica to meet with leaders of Caribbean nations.