News, April 18, 2009

Obama vows to seek news beginning with Cuba, to launch new chapter with Latin America, exchanges greetings with Chavez

Obama, Chavez exchange greetings before Americas summit opens

2009-04-18 07:17:06  

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17 (Xinhua) --

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez exchanged greetings with smile outside the venue of the Fifth Summit of the Americas here Friday.

    Pictures and TV footage issued by the summit's organizing committee showed that Obama and Chavez shook hands and exchanged greetings with very relaxed smile minutes before the opening ceremony of the summit on Friday evening.

    Reports here said that Obama offered greetings in Spanish, while the Venezuelan president replied in English.

    Obama also reportedly offered his greetings to other leaders participating in the summit, the first time for Obama since taking office in January to show his administration's policy change on Latin America from that of his predecessor George W. Bush.

    A possible Obama-Chavez meeting has been one of the watching points at the summit, although White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday said that Obama had no plan to meet Chavez at the three-day summit in Trinidad and Tobago.

    The spokesman said Obama might not walk away if Chavez tried to approach for a conversation. "Every time I've pulled the president aside for a conversation, we've had that conversation, so I assume he would do the same."

    Chavez has said he hopes to "reset" the relationship with the United States at the Americas summit.

    The U.S.-Venezuela relationship has been in tensions for near 10 years since Chavez was elected to his first presidential term in 1999. Washington has accused Chavez of anti-U.S. incitements and "impeding progress in the region," while Chavez has repeatedly charged Washington with plotting invasion to overthrow his government.  

U.S., Cuba exchange signs of reconciliation

2009-04-18 16:36:15  

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17 (Xinhua) --

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday he was willing to open talks with Cuba in an effort to end the long-standing hostility between the nations.

    "The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba. I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled in overcoming decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day," Obama said during opening ceremonies of the Summit of the Americas.

    He said the White House was prepared to engage Cuba on a wide range of issues, including human rights, democratic reforms and economics, in a bid to move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction.

    Obama apparently was responding to an "overture" from Cuban President Raul Castro, who said Thursday that despite being under a 47-year-long U.S. embargo, Cuba was open for talks on any topic.

    Castro said Cuba has sent word to Washington privately and in public that it is willing to discuss any issue, including freedom of the press and political prisoners.

    "We're willing to sit down to talk as it should be done, whenever," the Cuban leader said.

    Castro's words also prompted a positive response from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

    During a visit to the Dominican Republic on Friday before leaving for the summit, Clinton said current policy toward Cuba has failed and the U.S. welcomes Cuba's overture.

    The Cuba issue was not officially on the summit agenda but it appeared to have become the dominant topic at the meeting, where hemispheric leaders came to discuss such issues as the economic crisis and the environment.

    Leaders who spoke at the opening ceremony, including Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Patrick Manning, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, urged the U.S. to lift its embargo against Cuba.

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday expressed disappointment that Cuba was excluded from the summit. Chavez spoke while he presided at a meeting of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas that Castro attended.

    Meanwhile, Jose Miguel Insulza, the head of the Organization of American States, said Friday he will push for the readmission of Cuba to the OAS when its members meet in May.

    Cuba was excluded from the OAS in 1962 and has been absent from the Summit of the Americas since its first meeting in 1994. The U.S. is one of the few members that reject its return to the OAS.

Obama sets new tone for western hemisphere policy

2009-04-18 15:42:43  

    By Xinhua writer Yang Qingchuan

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17 (Xinhua) --

In his debut at the Summit of the Americas on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined what will be his administration's policy toward the Western Hemisphere.

    The Cuba issue was not on the official agenda of the April 17-19 Americas summit that brings together Obama and 33 other leaders, but the president, who is making his first visit to Latin America, is under mounting pressure from participating nations to improve relations with the island nation.

    "The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba. I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled in overcoming decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day," Obama said at the opening ceremony of the summit.

    The president said he has already changed a policy that he said has failed to advance opportunities for Cubans. He said the United States now will permit Cuban Americans to visit Cuba whenever they want and to provide resources to their families.

    The White House also is prepared to engage Cuba on a wide range of issues, including democratic reform and economic issues, the president said. He said he believes U.S.-Cuban relations can move in a new direction.

    Obama also pledged to move the Unite States toward a "new sense of partnership" with the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

    "There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based upon mutual respect, common interests and shared values," he said.

    The president promised that the United States would be both a friend and partner to Cuba because the future of both countries is linked to the future of the Americas.

    The United States, he said, is committed to shaping that future through engagement "that is strong, sustained, and successful."

    ECONOMIC CRISIS

    Obama said U.S. efforts to revive the American economy will help create jobs and prosperity at home and in Cuba. He said he has asked Congress to back the release of 448 million U.S. dollars in aid to countries hit hardest by the crisis, including those in the Western Hemisphere.

    He said a newly formed Microfinance Growth Fund will help restart the lending that can power businesses across the hemisphere.

    Obama also proposed the creation of a new Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas to deal with environmental problems in the hemisphere.

    In addition, the United States promised to help increase public safety and fight drugs, crime and gun violence that threaten many Latin American countries.

    "I am pleased to announce a new initiative to invest 30 million U.S. dollars to strengthen cooperation on security in the Caribbean," Obama said.

Editor: Deng Shasha

Obama vows to seek "news beginning" with Cuba, to launch new chapter with Latin America

2009-04-18 07:50:45  

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Apr. 17 (Xinhua) --

U.S. President Barack Obama said here Friday that he seeks "a new beginning" in relationship with Cuba and pledged to launch new chapter with the Latin America as a whole.

    "The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba. I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled in overcoming decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day," Obama said in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

    "I have already changed a Cuba policy that has failed to advance liberty or opportunity for the Cuban people. We will now allow Cuban Americans to visit the island whenever they choose and to provide resources to their families -- the same way that so many people in my country send money back to their families in your countries to help them pay for their everyday needs," he said.

    "Over the past two years, I have indicated -- and I repeat today -- that I am prepared to have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues -- from human rights, free speech, and democratic reform to drugs, migration, and economic issues," said Obama.

    "Let me be clear: I am not interested in talking for the sake of talking. But I do believe that we can move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction," said the president.

    Obama also pledged to move toward a new sense of partnership with the rest of the West Hemisphere. "All of us must now renew the common stake that we have in one another. I know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past, and that trust must be earned over time. While the United States has done much on behalf of peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged or sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership," he said.

    "There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based upon mutual respect, common interests, and shared values. So I am here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my Administration," said Obama.

    The U.S. president arrived here in the afternoon and was greeted by Paula Goppe-Scoon, Trinidad and Tobago's foreign minister at the airport of Port of Spain. As his motorcade drove to the Hyatt Regency, the summit's site, groups of people stood along the road watching and waving to him.

    Obama will meet with Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning and then hold a meeting with a group of Caribbean country leaders.