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Cuba to dominate Americas summit Obama offers Cuba 'new beginning'
(about 3 hours later)
Leaders from across the Americas are gathering for a summit which will see most of them meeting US President Barack Obama for the first time. President Barack Obama has said the US seeks a "new beginning" with Cuba and an "equal partnership" with all the nations of the Americas.
The global economic crisis and US-Cuban relations are expected to dominate the talks in Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Obama was addressing Latin American and Caribbean leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
Many regional leaders say Cuba should be part of the Summit of the Americas, but it will not be attending. The summit follows a historic thaw in relations between the US and Cuba.
As he arrived in Port-of-Spain for the summit, Mr Obama said that he wanted a "new beginning with Cuba". Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed an offer for talks from Cuban President Raul Castro, saying the old US policy had failed.
Earlier US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed an offer from Cuban President Raul Castro to open talks, saying the old US policy towards Cuba had failed. New beginning
Mr Castro said on Thursday that he was ready to talk about "everything" with the US, including human rights, political prisoners and freedom of the press. "The US seeks a new beginning with Cuba," Mr Obama told leaders gathered in Port of Spain.
His comments came after the US eased its long-standing embargo of the communist nation, allowing Cuban Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and send money home more easily. "I know there is a longer journey that must be travelled to overcome decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day."
Speaking on Friday in the Dominican Republic, Mrs Clinton acknowledged that US policy towards Cuba had failed.
"We are continuing to look for productive ways forward because we view the present policy as having failed," she said at a press conference.
"We welcome his comments and the overture they represent, and we are taking a very serious look at how to respond," Mrs Clinton said.
Cuban membership
Mr Obama arrived in Trinidad for the summit in the afternoon after a visit to Mexico.
We are continuing to look for productive ways forward because we view the present policy as having failed Hillary Clinton Clinton admits Cuba policy failed We are continuing to look for productive ways forward because we view the present policy as having failed Hillary Clinton Clinton admits Cuba policy failed
It is unlikely that the US president, after just three months in office, will be announcing any major policy shifts - even on Cuba - or new detailed proposals for US-Latin American relations, says the BBC's Latin America analyst James Painter.
The formal agenda is focused on the economic downturn which has affected the whole region and on energy and security needs.
But Cuban-American relations are expected to feature, after conciliatory signals from the leaders of the two nations.
Cuba is excluded from the summit, which includes 34 members of the Organisation of American States (OAS), though Latin American leaders have been calling for the communist country to be readmitted.Cuba is excluded from the summit, which includes 34 members of the Organisation of American States (OAS), though Latin American leaders have been calling for the communist country to be readmitted.
OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said on Friday he would ask the organisation's members to readmit Cuba, 47 years after it was suspended. Mr Castro said on Thursday that he was ready to talk about "everything" with the US, including human rights, political prisoners and freedom of the press.
Mr Insulza said he would put the proposal to a meeting of the OAS general assembly in Honduras at the end of May. His comments came after the US eased its long-standing embargo of the communist nation, allowing Cuban Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and send money home more easily.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would veto the final declaration from the OAS summit because of Cuba's exclusion. Speaking on Friday in the Dominican Republic, Mrs Clinton acknowledged that US policy towards Cuba had "failed" and said Washington was "taking a very serious look at how to respond."
Chavez handshake
Addressing the summit, Mr Obama said he wanted to move forward with a sense of "equal partnership" with all the nations of the Americas despite decades of mistrust.
First Bush, now Obama - Chavez meets a new US president
"I am here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my administration," he said to applause from the delegates.
Mr Obama earlier greeted and shook hands with Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, during an impromptu meeting.
Photographs released by the Venezuelan government showed Mr Chavez - one of the Bush's administrations most strident critics - smiling and clasping hands with Mr Obama at the start of the summit.
"I greeted Bush with this hand eight years ago; I want to be your friend," Mr Chavez told Mr Obama, according to a Venezuelan presidential press office statement.
Summit leaders are also expected to address the economic downturn and the region's energy and security needs at the weekend talks.