Today In History: Obama Discusses Russia With Other Nordic Leaders; Jimmy Carter Visits With Fidel Castro

May 12, 2017, is the 132nd day of the year, with 233 days remaining. The moon is in a waning gibbous phase, with illumination at 98 percent.

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Obama toasts Nordic leaders — except Russia

In 2016, former President Barack Obama met with five leaders of Nordic nations amid a state dinner at the White House. He lauded the humanitarian and environmental accomplishments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and also discussed how to collectively deal with the increasing aggressions of Russia ahead of a NATO summit planned for that following July.

“We will be discussing ways to enhance the security of the region, writ large, and also what we can do through dialogue and diplomacy to urge Russia to be more transparent and to be more restrained and careful in its military exercises,” said Charles Kupchan, Obama’s senior director for European affairs, shared in a public statement as reported by Reuters.

Carter in Cuba: Five days with Fidel

In 2002, former President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. head of state, in or out of office, to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Carter visited with Castro amid what was a five-day visit to the Caribbean island in an effort to bring Cuba and the United States closer by challenging both countries to change after more than 40 years of enmity.

Two days into his stay, the former president accompanied Castro to Estadio Latinoamericano, a stadium in Havana, and met with the country’s all-star baseball teams before throwing the first pitch for an all-star baseball game. Other days were spent touring Cuba’s AIDS sanatarium on the outskirts of the island’s capital, meeting with local bishops and visiting students of the Solidarity with Panama school for children with disabilities.

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Photo credit: Chuck Kennedy via Obama White House