US President George W Bush said Thursday he will not hold talks with Cuban leader Raul Castro because of the regime's track record of jailing political dissidents and suppressing human rights. "I'm not suggesting there's never a time to talk, but I'm suggesting now is not the time not to talk with Raul Castro," Bush said in a press conference. "He's nothing more than the extension of what his brother did, which was to ruin an island and imprison people because of their beliefs." Raul Castro became the official leader of Cuba on Sunday, more than 18 months after he was actively running the country because of Fidel Castro's illness. Fidel announced last week that he was formally resigning after 49 years in power.
