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Reuters US President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama 11 April 2015.

US President Barack Obama has said his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro will help both countries "turn the page" after decades of hostility.

He described the meeting on the fringes of the Summit of the Americas in Panama as "candid and fruitful".

Mr Obama said that the former foes would continue to have differences but could advance mutual interests.

The meeting was the first formal talks between the two countries' leaders in more than half a century.

"What we have both concluded is that we can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility," said President Obama. "Over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries."

His remarks came at the end of a regional summit which has been dominated by the historic thaw between US-Cuba relations.

Cuban leader Raul Castro said that the two countries had "agreed to disagree" when necessary.

"We are disposed to talk about everything, with patience," he said. "Some things we will agree with, and others we won't."

AP President Maduro has said that Venezuela has come to the summit in a "constructive spirit"

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Obama-Castro summit caps Cuba thaw