Raul Receives President of the United States of America

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 22 (acn) Army General Raul Castro, President of the councils of State and Ministers, received the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

During the meeting, held on Monday morning at the Palacio de la Revolucion in Havana, the two leaders exchanged views on the state of relations, progress achieved since they agreed their reestablishment, and the next steps that could be taken as part of the process of improvement of bilateral ties.
The Cuban president stressed the need to solve key problems to be able to move towards normalization of relations, in particular the lifting of the blockade and the return of the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo Naval Base. He also reiterated that despite the differences that exist, the Cuban government is willing to continue working on this endeavor.
Accompanying the distinguished visitor were John Kerry, Secretary of State, and Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture; Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce, and Susan Rice, National Security Advisor; Benjamin Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser; Josh Earnest, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary; Jeffrey DeLaurentis Charge d'affaires a.i of the United States to Cuba; Mark Feierstein, director for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the National Security Council, and Siobhan Sheils, director for Central America and the Caribbean of the National Security Council.
Also representing Cuba at the meeting were Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of the People's Power; Miguel Diaz-Canel; First Vice-president of the councils of State and Ministers; the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, and Agriculture, Gustavo Rodriguez; Alejandro Castro, Advisor to the Committee for Defense and National Security; Josefina Vidal and Gustavo Machin, general director and deputy director of the Department for the United States of the Foreign Ministry, respectively, and Jose Ramon Cabañas, ambassador to the United States.