President Obama, Raul Castro sit down in historic meeting

Raul Castro, Barack Obama
(Image credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro sat down for a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas on Saturday, a highly anticipated event that signals both sides' desire to work toward normalizing diplomatic relations.

"It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage with Cuban government," The Associated Press reported Obama saying shortly after the meeting.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.