President Barack Obama has said the US seeks a “new beginning” with Cuba and an “equal partnership” with all the nations of the Americas, according to BBC online.
Mr Obama was addressing Latin American and Caribbean leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
The summit follows a thaw in US-Cuban relations. Cuba is not at the summit.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed an offer for talks from Cuban President Raul Castro, saying the old US policy had failed.