Obama sees chances of better Cuba and Venezuela ties

By Jeff Mason and David Alexander

PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he saw "potential positive signs" of better relations with Cuba and Venezuela, but he called on Cuba to back them up by giving its people more political freedom.

Obama spoke after attending a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago that he said focussed on "launching a new era of partnership" between western hemisphere countries.

Communist-ruled Cuba was excluded from the meeting, but the summit was dominated by speculation over the prospect of an end to the long conflict between Washington and Havana after Cuban President Raul Castro said last week he was open to talks.

Obama also received friendly overtures during the summit from left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose close alliance with Cuba and fierce criticism of U.S. policies in the region had strained relations with Washington.

"For the past few days, we've seen potential positive signs in the nature of the relationship between the United States, Cuba and Venezuela," Obama told a news conference.

"We're going to explore and see if we can make progress," Obama added, recalling that Raul Castro had said he was willing to talk about political prisoners and human rights.

Obama added: "But as I've said before, the test for all of us is not simply words but deeds".

Referring to his move last week to ease parts of the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, he said the policy "in place for 50 years hasn't worked the way we want it to".