HAVANA — The leaders of the United States and Cuba made history on Monday, meeting for the first official talks between their governments in decades.

In a colorful welcome ceremony in the Cuban capital, President Obama and his host, President Raúl Castro, strolled amicably past an honor guard and assembled dignitaries.

The leaders are expected to discuss a path toward normalizing relations, a shift begun in late 2014 when, in a stunning announcement, they embarked on a restoration of full diplomatic relations.

Both men are venturing into diplomatic territory that had eluded their predecessors, amid mutual mistrust dating from Theodore Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill to the Cuban missile crisis and beyond. Profound differences still divide the two nations economically and politically, including the United States trade embargo and Cuban human rights issues.

American officials said Mr. Obama planned to raise the issue of Cuba’s repressive tactics, on display in the days leading up to the president’s visit as the government detained dissidents who could cause a diversion from the official script.

Watch the life Press conference

Source: Nytimes