By Bill Nichols. USA Today. September 8, 2000
UNITED NATIONS -- It was a handshake Bill Clinton didn't want but couldn't avoid.
Aides to the president revealed belatedly Thursday that Clinton had a brief exchange of pleasantries with Cuban President Fidel Castro the day before at a luncheon for leaders attending the U.N.'s Millennium Summit.
After an initial denial, the White House confirmed that Clinton shook hands with the Cuban leader, treated as a political pariah by American presidents for four decades. But the White House said there were no photographers or television cameras to record the awkward moment.
The White House account of the encounter:
Castro, making his first U.S. visit since 1995, sought out Clinton at the end of the lunch. He said he hoped he wouldn't cause a problem by coming over to say hello. Clinton was polite but said little during their few minutes together.
The chance meeting was Clinton's first with Castro. The Cuban leader has attended other global functions with U.S. presidents, but there is no record of him shaking their hands. In 1992, Castro and President Bush avoided contact during an environmental summit in Brazil.
Clinton didn't have to sweat over another meeting with Castro on Thursday night, when the U.S. president hosted a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Castro wasn't invited. | 