Arriving in Brazil on Monday on the eve of an historic Latin American and Caribbean summit, Castro said that he would like to hold talks with Obama regarding the economic blockade that the United States imposed on Cuba nearly 50 years ago.
"If Mr. Obama wants to discuss it, we'll discuss it," he said to journalists before the summit in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. "If he doesn't want to discuss it, we won't discuss it."
"It has become more and more difficult to isolate Cuba from the outside world," he said, predicting that the summit would issue a resolution condemning the blockade.
"We may be small, but we have demonstrated to the whole world that it is impossible to break us," Castro said, adding that more than 70% of Cuba's population has grown up under the U.S. sanctions.
The regional gathering excludes the United States and Canada and is the first large-scale meeting of Latin American leaders in recent times to take place without the presence of an outside power.
However, the Cuban leader said that nothing big should be expected from the Brazilian hosts as it is only the first step on the way to integrating Latin American countries.
"The Chinese say that the most difficult path begins with the first step," Castro said. "Latin American integration is a long path, just look how long it took for Europe to unite."
The two-day summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders, which is aimed at strengthening political and economic ties, ends on Wednesday.
