(VOVworld) – President Barack Obama will have an “interaction” with Cuban President Raúl Castro at this week’s Summit of the Americas in Panama, White House officials said on Monday.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets Cuban President Raúl Castro before giving his speech at the memorial service for late South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, on December 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

The White House said that there had been no plans made for an official meeting during the summit between the two countries’ leaders, but an interaction was assured. The story of a possible interaction was earlier suggested by Roberta Jacobson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and the top US negotiator for normalising relations with Cuba.