AFP - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Monday called for an end to the US embargo and said Cuba was not asking for "charity," hours after US President Barack Obama lifted curbs on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans.

CUBA: Obama loosens restrictions on money transfer, travel to Cuba

  
"Not a word was said about the embargo, which is the most cruel of all actions," Castro said in an article published late Monday on the official Cubadebate website in reaction to Obama's decision.
  
"Conditions are such that Obama could use his talents toward a constructive policy that would end what has failed for almost half a century."
  
On Monday US President Barack Obama made a landmark gesture to communist Cuba, lifting all curbs on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to the island for the first time in three decades.
  
Since Obama took power in January the level of vitriol between Washington and Havana has eased, with a sometimes bellicose Castro praising the new US president.
  
On Monday Castro appeared to continue that trend claiming Cuba "did not blame Obama for the atrocities committed by other US governments."
  
Castro added that he did not question Obama's "sincerity and desire to change the politics and image of the United States.
  
"I understand that he faces a difficult battle since being elected, due to centuries old biases," Castro wrote.
  
But both sides remain highly cautious.
  
Castro said his brother, Raul Castro, Cuba's president, would be willing to negotiate with the US but only "on the basis of the upmost respect for sovereignty."
  
The White House has said it is up to the Cuban government whether Obama's steps, which were in line with his campaign promises, would result in a thawing of chilled relations between the two sides.
  
"President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country's future," presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said at the first bilingual press conference given at the White House.
  
"The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people.... There are actions that he can and has taken today to open up the flow of information to provide some important steps to help that. But he's not the only person in this equation."
  
The White House's move comes ahead as leaders from around the western hemisphere prepare to meet at a summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago later this week.
  
The 47-year-old US economic embargo on Cuba is expected to feature high on the summit's agenda, despite Cuba's exclusion from the meeting.