Cuban Leader, Former US President Hold Formal Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 13, 2002

Cuban Leader, Former US President Hold Formal Talks

Cuban leader Fidel Castro held formal talks Saturday with former US President Jimmy Carter,who is on a landmark visit to Cuba.

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Cuban leader Fidel Castro held formal talks Saturday with former US President Jimmy Carter,who is on a landmark visit to Cuba.

Before the talks, Castro presided over a formal ceremony to welcome Carter and his entourage, in which the two men shook handsfor a second time in one day.

Carter, accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, arrived here Sunday morning for a six-day private visit to Cuba. He is the most prominent American to visit the island country since its 1959 revolution.

Carter was greeted by Cuban leader Fidel Castro at the airport.

The two leaders made brief statements at the airport welcoming ceremony. "We come here as friends of the Cuban people and we hopeto meet many Cubans of all walks of life," Carter said in Spanish.

Earlier in the day, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Carter met for talks that focused on the present status of bilateral relations.

Perez told a press conference that Cuba would not be hostile tothe United States despite a 40-year U.S. trade embargo imposed on the Caribbean island.

He hoped the two countries could realize the normalization of bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect and tolerance.

During his stay here, Carter will hold talks with Castro and visit schools and biotechnology institutes. He is to make a televised address Tuesday at the Havana University and meet with religious figures on Thursday.

Carter helped re-establish diplomatic missions in both countries during his 1977-1981 presidency.

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