those were between president eisenhower and batista, the cuban dictator. president obama also called the meeting a turning point. i told president castro in private what i ve said in public. that our governments will continue to have our differences differences, and the united states will continue to stand firmly for universal values and human rights. at the same time, we agreed that we can continue to take steps forward that advance our mutual interests. we ll continue to work toward re-establishing diplomatic relations, reopening embassies in havana and washington and encouraging greater contexts and commerce and exchanges between our citizens. i m optimistic that we ll continue to make progress and that this can, indeed, be a turning point. now castro for his part says he agrees with obama, but he did urge patience. nbc s perry bacon jr. is at the white house this morning. so perry, what more can you tell us about as the president says a truly historic meeting? reporter: it wa