During his visit to Cuba, French President François Hollande has met with Fidel Castro and also called for an end to the United States blockade of the island nation. This is the first visit of a European leader to Havana since last year’s announcement of the restoration of ties between the U.S. and Cuba, and the first visit by a French president since 1898. Hollande also gave a guest lecture at the University of Havana and signed several bilateral agreements. In Europe, Cuban President Raul Castro called on the U.S. Senate to ratify President Obama’s decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. teleSUR