Fidel Castro says Cuba open to talks with Obama

Havana: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said his country was open to talks with US President-elect Barack Obama.

"With Obama, talks could happen anywhere he wants," Castro wrote in the latest of a series of columns he has published in state-run media.

"He should remember the carrot-and-stick theory will not work with our country," Castro wrote of Obama. "The sovereign rights of the Cuban people are not negotiable."

Obama, who takes office on January 20, has raised hopes of improved US-Cuba ties by saying he was open to talks with the Cuban government.