President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro have advanced their historic goal of resuming U.S.-Cuba ties with the first direct meeting between leaders of the two countries in a half-century. Obama and Castro sat down Saturday at the Summit of the Americas, which Cuba was attending for the first time. Addressing the plenary, Obama said his decision to scale back U.S. isolation of Cuba marks a turning point for the Americas.

President Obama: “This shift in U.S. policy represents a turning point for our entire region. The fact that President Castro and I are both sitting here today marks a historic occasion. It is the first time in more than half a century that all the nations of the Americas are meeting to address our future together. I think it’s no secret — President Castro, I’m sure, would agree — that there will continue to be significant differences between our two countries. We will continue to speak out on behalf of universal values that we think are important. I’m sure President Castro will continue to speak out on the issues he thinks are important. But I firmly believe that if we can continue to move forward and seize this momentum in pursuit of mutual interests, then better relations between the United States and Cuba will create new opportunities for cooperation across our region for the security and prosperity and health and dignity of all our people.”

Obama later called his meeting with Castro “candid and fruitful,” and said a decision will come soon on Cuba’s removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.